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 INDIAN NULLIFICATION 
 
 UNCONSTITUTIONAL LAWS OF MASSACHUSETTS 
 
 RELATIVE TO 
 
 ^mm MA'^^umi^mm wwmm^ 
 
 OR, 
 
 THE PRETENDED RIOT EXPLAINED. 
 
 BY WILLIAM APES, 
 
 ▲* inDIAM AVD PREACHER OF THX GOSPEL 
 
 BOSTON: 
 
 PRESS OF JONATHAN HOWE, 
 
 No. 39, Mercliants Rott. 
 1835.
 
 Entered according" to Act of Congress, m the year one 
 ^oueand eight hundred and thirty-five, by William Apes, 
 i» the Clerk's Office of the District Cowrt of MassachusetU.
 
 TO THE WHITE PEOPLE OF MASSACHUSETTS 
 
 k 
 
 The red children of the soil of America address them- 
 selves to the descendants of the pale men who came across 
 the big waters to seek among thera a refuge from tyranny 
 and persecution. 
 
 We say to each and every one of you that the Great Spirit 
 who is the friend of the Indian as well as of the white man, 
 has raised up among you a brother of our own and has sent 
 him to us that he might show us all the secret contrivances of 
 the pale faces to deceive and defraud us. For this, many of 
 our white brethren hate him, and revile him, and say all man- 
 ner of evil of him ; falsely calling him an impostor. Know, 
 all men, that our brother Apes is not such a man as they say. 
 White men are the only persons who have imposed on us, 
 and we say that we love our red brother, the Rev. William 
 Apes, who preaches to us, and have all the confidence in him 
 that we can put in any man, knowing him to be a devout 
 Christian, of sound mind, of firm purpose, and worthy to be 
 trusted by reason of his truth. We have never seen any 
 reason to think otherwise. 
 
 We send this forth to the world in love and friendship with 
 all men, and especially with our brother Apes, for whose ben- 
 efit it is intended. 
 
 Signed by the three Selectmen of the Marshpee Tribe, at 
 the Council House, in Marshpee. 
 
 ISRAEL AMOS, 
 ISAAC COOMBS, 
 EZRA ATTAQUIN. 
 
 March, 19, 1835. 
 
 30150G9
 
 BosTow, October 2, 1834. 
 To tohomit may eencem. 
 
 The undersigned was a native of the County 
 of Barnstable, and was brought up near the Marshpee Indianm. 
 He always regarded them aa a people grievously oppressed 
 by the whites, and borne down by laws which made them 
 poor and enriched other men upon their property. In fact 
 the Marshpee Indians, to whom our laws have denied all 
 rights of property, have a higher title to their lands than the 
 whites have, for our forefathers claimed the soil of this State 
 by the consent of the Indians, whose title they thus adnritted 
 was better than their own. 
 
 For a long time the Indiians had been disaffected, but no 
 one was energetic enough among them to combine them in 
 Uiking measures for their rights. Every time they had peti- 
 tioned the Legislature, the laws, by the management of the 
 interested whites, had been made more severe ageiinst them. 
 Daniel Amos, I believe, was the first one among them, 
 who conceived the plan of freeing his tribe from slavery. 
 William Apes, an Indian preacher, of the Pequod tribe, 
 regularly ordained as a minister, came among these Indians, 
 to preach. They invited iiim to assist them in getting their 
 liberty. He had the talent they most stood in need of. He 
 accordingly went forward, and the Indians declared that no 
 man should take their wood off their plantation. Apes and a 
 number of other Indians quietly unloaded a load of wood, 
 which a Mr. Sampson was carting off. For this, he and some 
 others were indicted for a riot, upon grounds extremely doubt- 
 ful in law, to say the least Every person on the jury, who 
 »aid he thought the Indians ought to have their liberty, waa 
 set aside. The three Indians were convicted, and Apes wa« 
 imprisoned thirty days.
 
 8 
 
 It was in this stage of the business, after the conviction, 
 that I became the counsel of the Indians, and carried their 
 claims to the Legislature, where they finally prevailed. 
 
 The persons concerned in the riot, as it was called, 
 and imprisoned for it, I think were as justifiable in what 
 they did, as our fathers were, who threw the tea overboard ; 
 and to the energetic movements of William Apes, Daniel 
 Amos and others, it was owing that an impression was made 
 on the Legislature, which induced them to do partial justice 
 toward this long oppressed race. The imprisonment of those 
 men, in such a cause, I consider an honour to them, and no 
 disgrace ; no more than the confinement of our fathers, in 
 the Jersey prison-ship. 
 
 BENJAMIN F. HALLETT, 
 
 Counsel /or the Marshpee Indians.
 
 INTRODUCTION, 
 
 The writer hopes that the public will give him credit for 
 an intention to adhere rigidly to the truth, in presenting his 
 Tiews of the late difficulties of the Marshpee Tribe, as it ia 
 as much his wish as his intention to do justice to all liis 
 brethren, without distinction of colour. Yet he is sensible 
 that he cannot write truly on this subject without attracting 
 the worst wishes of those who are enemies. to liberty, or 
 would reserve it exclusively to themselves. Could he speak 
 without incurring such enmity, he would be most happy to 
 do so ; but he is fully aware that he cannot even touch this 
 matter without exposing himself to certain calumny. This 
 has been his portion whenever he has attempted to plead 
 the cause of his ignorant and ever -oppressed red brethren. 
 Nevertheless, he will endeavour to speak independently, as 
 if all men were his friends, and ready to greet him with 
 thundering applause ; and he would do so if their voices were 
 to pronounce on him a sentence of everlasting disgrace. He 
 writes not in the expectation of gathering wealth, or aug> 
 menting the number of his friends. But he has not the least 
 doubt that all men who have regard to truth and integrity, 
 will do justice to the uprightness of his intentions. (Heaven 
 be praised ! there are some such men in the world.) He is 
 equally sure that the evidence contained in this little work 
 will be satisfactory, as to all the points he wishes to establish, 
 to all who are open to conviction. 
 
 It is true that the author of this book is a member of the 
 Marshpee Tribe, not by birth, but by adoption. How he has 
 become one of that unfortunate people, and why he concerns 
 himself about their affairs, will now be explained to the sat- 
 isfaction of the reader. He wishes to say in the first place,
 
 10 
 
 that the causes of the prevalent prejudice against his race 
 have been his study from his childhood upwards. That their 
 colour should be a reason to treat one portion of the human 
 race with insult and abuse has always seemed to him strange ; 
 believing that God has given to all men an equal right to 
 possess and occupy the earth, and to enjoy the fruits thereof, 
 without any such distinction. He has seen the beasts of the 
 field drive each other out of their pastures, because they had 
 the power to do so; and he knew that the white man had that 
 power over the Indian which knowledge and superior strength 
 give ; but it has also occurred to him that Indians are men, 
 not brutes, as the treatment they usually receive would lead 
 US to think. Nevertheless, being bred to look upon Indians 
 with dislike and detestation, it is not to be wondered that the 
 whites regard them as on a footing With the brutes that perish. 
 Doubtless there are many who think it granting us poor na- 
 tives a great privilege to treat us with equal humanity. The 
 author has often been told seriously, by sober persons, that 
 his fellows were a link between the whites and the brute 
 creation, an inferior race of men to whom the Almighty had 
 less regard than -to their neighbours, and whom he had driven 
 from their possessions to make room for a race more favoured. 
 Borne have gone so far as to bid him remove and give place 
 to that pure and excellent people who have ever despised 
 bis brethren and evil entreated them, both bj precept and 
 example. 
 
 Assumption of this kind never convinced William Apes 
 of its own justice. He is still the same unbelieving Indian 
 that he ever was. Nay, more, he is not satisfied that the 
 learned and professedly religious men who have thus ad- 
 dressed him, were more exclusively the favourites of his 
 Creator than himself, though two of them at least have been 
 hailed as among the first orators of the day, and spoke with 
 an eloquence that might have moved stocks and stones. One 
 of them dwells in New York and the other in Boston. As it 
 would avail him little to bespeak the favour of the world in 
 behalf of their opinions by mentioning their names, he will 
 proceed with the matter in hand, viz. the troubles of the 
 Marshpee people, and his own trial.
 
 INDIAN NULLIFICATION, &e. 
 
 It being my desire, as well as my duty as a preacher 
 of tbe gospel, to do as much good as in me lay to my 
 red brethren, I occasionally paid them a visit, announc- 
 ing and explaining to them the word of life, when op- 
 portunity offered. I knew that no people on- earth 
 were more neglected ; yet whenever I attempted to 
 supply their spiritual wants, I was opposed and ob- 
 structed by the whites around them, as was the prac- 
 tice of those who dwelt about my native tribe, (the 
 Pequods.) in Groton, Conn, of which more will be 
 said in another place. 
 
 Being on a tour among my brethren in May, 1833, 
 I was often asked why 1 did not visit my brethren of 
 Marshpee, of whom 1 had often heard. Some said 
 that they were well provided, and had a missionary, 
 named Fish, who took. care of their lands and pro- 
 tected them against the fraud of such of their neigh- 
 bours as were devoid of principle. Others asserted 
 that they were much abused. These things I heard 
 in and about Scituate and Kingston, where I had preach- 
 ed. Some of those who spoke thus, were connected 
 with the missionary. The light thus obtained upon 
 the subject being uncertain, I resolved to visit the peo- 
 ple of Marshpee, and judge for myself. Accordingly 
 I repaired to Plymouth, where I held forth on the civil 
 and religious rights of the Indians, in Dr. Kendall's
 
 12 
 
 church, and was treated with Christian kindness by the 
 worthy pastor and his people. Dr. Kendall gave me 
 a letter of introduction to Mr. Fish, at Marshpee. 
 Being unacquainted with the way, I strayed a little 
 from it, and found a number of good Congregationalisls 
 of the old school, who invited me to tarry and preach 
 to them in the evening, which I did, to their accept- 
 ance ; for they and their pastor desired me to remain 
 and preach on the Sabbath, which, however, I could 
 not consistently do. I proceeded thence to Sandwich, 
 where I made my mission known to Mr. Cobb, the 
 Orthodox preacher, who appeared to be pleased. 
 
 Mr. Cobb said that he had agreed to exchange with 
 Mr. Fish, on the Sabbath following, but as it was in- 
 convenient for him to do so, he would give me a line to 
 him. With this furtherance I set forward, and arrived 
 at Mr. Fish's house before sunset, informing those I 
 met on the way that I intended to preach on the next 
 day, and desiring them to advise others accordingly. 
 When I made my business known to Mr. Fish, he 
 treated me with proper kindness, and invited me to 
 preach for him. When I awoke in the morning, I did 
 not forget to return thanks to God for his fatherly pro- 
 tection during the night, and for preserving me in health 
 and strength, to go through the duties of the day. I 
 expected to meet some hundreds of the tribe, and to 
 hear from their lips the sweet song of salvation which 
 should prepare their minds for the words of life, to be 
 delivered by one of the humblest servants of God. I 
 hoped that grace might be given to me to say some- 
 thing to my poor brethren that might be for their ad- 
 vantage in lime and eternity ; after which I thought I
 
 13 
 
 should see their faces no more. I iooked lo see them 
 thronging around their missionary in crowds, and wait- 
 ed for this agreeahle sight with great anxiety. 
 
 The time appointed for the service was half past 
 ten. When it arrived, we got into our carriages and 
 proceeded to the Meeting-house, which was about two 
 miles and a half dist i t. The sacred edifice stood in 
 the midst of a noble forest, and seemed to be about a 
 hundred years old ; circumstances which did not ren- 
 der its appearance less interesting. Hard by was an 
 Indian burial ground, overgrown with pines, in which 
 the e;rave3 were all ranged North and South. A de- 
 lightful brook, fed by some of the sweetest springs in 
 Massachusetts, murmured beside it. After pleasing 
 my eyes with this charnjin^ landscape, I ti'rned to 
 meet my Indian brethren and give them the hand of 
 friendship; but 1 was greatly disappointed in the ap- 
 pearance of those who advanced. All the Indians I 
 had ever seen were of a reddish color, sometimes ap- 
 proaching a yellow; but now, look to what. quarter I 
 would, most of those who were coming were pale 
 faces, and, in my disappointment, it seemed to me that 
 the hue of death sat upon tiieir countenances. It 
 seemed very strange to me that my brethen should 
 have changed their natural color, and become in every 
 respect like white men. Recovering a little from my 
 astonishment, I entered the house with the missionary. 
 It had the appearance of some ancient monument set 
 upon a hill-top, for a landmark to generations yet un- 
 born. Could Solomon's temple have been set beside 
 it, I think no one would have drawn an architectural 
 comparison. Beautiful as this place was, w^e had 
 2
 
 14 
 
 Jittle time to admire it ; something more solemn de- 
 manded our attention. We were to prepare ourselves 
 for a temple more splendid than ever was built by- 
 hands. When the congregation were seated, 1 arose 
 and gave out the psalm. I now cast my eyes at the 
 gallery, that I might see how the songsters who were 
 tuning their harps appeared ; but, with one excep- 
 tion, paleness was upon all their faces. I must do 
 these Indians the justice to say that they performed 
 their parts very well. Looking below, something new 
 caught my attention. Upon two seats, reserved along 
 the. sides of the temple for some of the privileged, 
 were seated a few of those to whom the wards of the 
 Saviour, as well as his scourge of small cords, might 
 be properly applied, " It is written that my house shall 
 be called the house of prayer, but ye have made it a 
 den of thieves ;" for these pale men were certainly 
 stealing from the Indians their portion in the gospel, by- 
 leaving their own houses of worship and crowding them 
 out of theirs. The law, perhaps, allowed them to do 
 so. After singing and prayer, I preached one of my 
 luimble sermons, after which I attended a Sabbath 
 Sciiool, in which a solitary red child might be seen here 
 and there. By what T saw, I judged that the whites 
 were much favored, while the little red children were 
 virtually bidden to stand aside. I understood that the 
 books that were sent to them had been given to the 
 wliiie scholars. 
 
 After a slight refreshment, the duty of worship was 
 resumed ; and I discovered that plain dealing was dis- 
 agreeable to my white auditory. I inquired where 
 the Indians were; to which Mr. Fish replied, that they
 
 15 
 
 were at a place called Marshpee, and that there was a 
 person called Blind Joe, who tried to preach to them, 
 which was the cause of their absence. Though the 
 said Joe was one of them, he had done them more 
 harm than good, I asked why he did not imitate 
 Blind Joe, and get him to preach for him a part of the 
 time. He answered, that that could not be ; that Joe 
 was not qualified to preach and instruct. I replied that 
 he could not, perhaps, be sure of that, and that if he 
 had followed the course I had mentioned, it would at 
 least have been the means of uniting the people, which 
 would of itself -have been great good. It was then 
 concluded to have a meeting at Marshpee ; and, in the 
 afternoon of the next day, I paid the people of that 
 place a visit in their Meeting-house. I addressed them 
 upon temperance and education, subjects wiiich \ 
 thought very needful to be discussed, and plainly told" 
 them what I had heard from their missionary, viz : 
 That it was their general disposition to be idle, not to 
 hoe the corn-fields they had planted, to take no care of 
 their hay after mowing it, and to lie drunken under 
 their fences. I admonished them of the evil of these 
 their ways, and advised them to consider any white 
 man who sold them rum their enemy, and to place no 
 confidence in him. 1 told them that such a person de- 
 se^ed to have his own rum thrown into his face. I 
 endeavored to show them how much more useful 
 they might be to themselves and the world if they 
 would but try to educate themselves, and of the respect 
 they would gain by it. Then, addressing the throne 
 of grace, I besought the Lord to have mercy oa 
 them and relieve them from the oppressions under which
 
 16 
 
 they laboured. Here Mr. Fish cautioned me not to 
 say any. thing about oppression, that being, he said, the 
 very thing that made them discontented. They thought 
 themselves oppressed, he observed, but such was not 
 the case. They had already quite liberty enough. I 
 suggested to him the propriety of granting them the 
 privileges enjoyed by the whites about them ; but he 
 said that that would never do, as they would immedi- 
 ately part with all their lands. I told him that, if their 
 improvement was his aim, he ought to go among them 
 and inquire into their affairs ; to which he replied that 
 he did go at times, but did not say much to them about 
 their worldly concerns. He asked me if I thought 
 it proper to preach about such things. I answered 
 that I thought It proper to do good in any way ; 
 that a variety was not amiss, and that such a course 
 would convince his flock that he had their welfare at 
 heart. 
 
 I had now appointed to meet my brethren on 
 Wednesday evening following, when I expected to bid 
 them farewell forever ; and in the mean while I had 
 obtained a biter of introduction to Mr. Pratt, of 
 Great Marshes. There 1 gave the audience a word 
 in season, upon the subject of Indian degradation, 
 which did not appear to please them much. I then 
 visited Barnstable, and finding no resting place there 
 for the sole of my foot, I journeyed as far as Hyannis, 
 where I was entertained with hospitality and kindness. 
 On the evening of the fourteenth day, I again preach- 
 ed on the soul-harrowing theme of Indian degradation; 
 and my discourse was generally well received ; though 
 it gave much offence to some illiberal minds, as truth
 
 17 
 
 always will, when it speaks in condemnation, I now 
 turned my face toward Marshpee, to preach the word 
 there. 
 
 1 had made up my mind to depart early on the mor- 
 row, and therefore, that I might hear of their concerns, 
 and how they fared from their own mouths, I intended 
 to commence my labours early in the day. I had not 
 the least intention of staying with my brethren, be- 
 cause I saw that they had been taught to be sectarians, 
 rather than Christians, to love their own sect and to 
 hate others, which was contrary to the convictions of 
 my own experience as well as to the doctrine of Jesus 
 Christ. What ensued led me to look farther into their 
 case. The lecture -I had delivered in the Meeting- 
 house, had wrought well, and a small pamphlet that 
 contained a sketch of the history of the Indians of 
 New England had had a good effect. As I was read- 
 ing from it, an individual among the assembly took oc- 
 casion to clap his hands, and with a loud shout, to cry, 
 '' Truth, truth !" This gave rise to a general conversa- 
 tion, and it was truly heart-rending to me to hear what 
 my kindred people had suffered at the hands of the 
 whites. 
 
 Having partook of some refreshment, we again met 
 to w|^ship God in the School-house ; where 1 believe 
 that the Spirit of the Lord was revealed to us. Then, 
 wishing to know more of their grievances, real or sup- 
 posed, and upon their invitation, I appointed several 
 meetings ; for I was requested to hear their whole story, 
 and to help them. I therefore appointed the twenty- 
 first of May, 1833, to attend a council to be called by 
 my brethren. In the mean while I went to Falmouth, 
 2*
 
 18 
 
 nine miles distant, where I held forth upon the civil and 
 religious rights of the Indians. Some, who apparent- 
 ly thought that charity was due to themselves, but not 
 to the red men, did not relish the discourse; but such 
 as knew that all men have rights and feelings, and 
 wished those of others to be respected as well as their 
 own, spoke favourably of it. Of this number was 
 Mr. Woodbury, the minister, who thought it would 
 do good. I then returned to Marshpee, to attend the 
 council. 
 
 The meeting was held in the school-room. Busi- 
 ness commenced at about nine in the morning, and 
 continued through the day. The first that arose to 
 speak was an Indian, Ebenezer Attaquin by name. 
 Tears flowed freely down his time-furrowed cheeks, 
 while he addressed us in a manner alike candid and 
 affeciionate. The house was well filled. 
 
 After listening patiently to the tale of their distresses, 
 I counselled them.to apply for redress to the Governor 
 and Council. They answered, that they had done so; 
 but had never been able to obtain a hearing. The 
 wliite agents had always tlirown every obstacle in their 
 way. I t'len addressed them in a speech which they 
 all listened to with projound attention. 
 
 1 be:j;an by saying that, though I was a str^j^ger 
 among thein, I did not doubt but that I might do them 
 some I'ood, and be instrumental in procuring the dis- 
 charge of the overseers, and an alteration of the ex- 
 isting ! .w>;. As, however, I was not a son of their 
 partic- iUtr tribe, if they wished me to assist them, it 
 would luj necessary for them to give me a right to act 
 in their behalf, by adopting me ; as then our rights and
 
 19 
 
 interests would become identical. They must be aware 
 that all the evil reports calumny could Jnvent, would be 
 put in circulation against me by the whites interested, 
 and that no means to set them against me would be 
 neglected. (Had the inspiration of Isaiah spoken 
 these words, they could not have been more fully ac- 
 complished, as is known to the whites of Barnstable 
 County, as well as the Indians.) 
 
 Mr. Ebenezer Attaquin, being one of the prayer 
 leaders, replied first, and said, '• If we get this man to 
 stand by us, we must stand by him, and if we forsake 
 him after he undertsjies for us, God will forsake us 
 also." 
 
 Mr. Ezra Attaquin wished to know if I could not 
 come and dwell with them, as so I could do them more 
 good than if abiding at a distance. Mr. Ebenezer 
 Attaquin said in reply, that if such a chance should be 
 offered to a white man, he would be very glad to ac- 
 cept i-t. 
 
 I now inquired what provision could be made for me, 
 if I should consent to their wishes. They answered 
 that their means were small, but that they would pro- 
 vide a house for me to live in, and do what they could 
 for my support. I said that, knowing their poverty, I 
 did not expect much, and gave them to understand 
 that I could dig, and fish, and chop wood, and was will- 
 ing to do what I could for myself. The subject of re- 
 ligious instruction was then discussed, and the inquiry 
 was made, what should be done with their poor, blind 
 brother, (who was then absent among another sect.) I 
 answered that 1 was very willing to unite my labours 
 with his, as there was plenty of work for both of us ;
 
 ?0 
 
 and that had I but half a loaf of bread, I would glad- 
 ly divide it with him. It was then agreed that we 
 should unite, and journey together on the road toward 
 heaven. 
 
 The case of Mr. Fish was next laid befor^ the 
 council, and complaints were made, that he had neg* 
 lected his duty ; that he did not appear to care for the 
 welfare of the tribe, temporal or spiritual ; that he had 
 never visited some of the brethren at all, and others 
 only once in five or seven years ; that but eight or ten 
 attended his preaching ^ that his congregation was com- 
 posed of white people, to whom bis visits were mosdy 
 confined, and that it seemed that all he appeared to 
 care for was to get a living, and make as much as he 
 could out of the Indians, who could not see any reason 
 to think him their friend. It was, therefore, agreed to 
 discharge him, and three papers were draughted ac- 
 cordingly. One was a petition to the Governor and 
 Council, a second to the Corporation of Harvard Col- 
 lege ; the first complaining against the Overseers, and 
 the laws relating to the tribe ; and the second against 
 the missionary set over them by Harvard College and 
 the Overseers. The third document was a statement 
 of my adoption into the tribe, and was signed by all 
 present, and subsequently by others, who were not 
 present, but were equally desirious of securing their 
 rights. It was' as follows. 
 
 To aU whom it may concern, from the heginning of the world 
 
 up to this time, and forever more. 
 
 Be it known, that we, the Marshpees, now assembled in the 
 
 presence of God, do hereby agree to adopt the Rev. William 
 
 Apes, of the Pequod tribe, as one of ours. He, and his wife,
 
 21 
 
 and his two children, and those of his descendants, forever, 
 are to be considered as belonging to the Marshpee tribe of 
 Indians, And we solemly avow this, in the presence of God, 
 and of one another, and do hereby attach our names to the 
 same, that he may take his seat with us and aid us in our af- 
 fairs. Done at the Council House in Marshpee, and by the 
 authority of the same. May 21st, 1833. 
 
 EBENEZER ATTAQUIN, President. 
 ISRAEL AMOS, Secretary. 
 
 To this instrument there are about a hundred signa- 
 tures, which were affixed to the other papers above 
 mentioned also. The resolutions which were sent to 
 the two bodies were these : 
 
 Resolved, That we, as a tribe, will rule ourselves, and have 
 the right to do so ; for all men are born free and equal, says 
 the Constitution of the country. 
 
 Resolved, That we will not permit any white man to come 
 upon our plantation, to cut or carry off wood or hay, or any 
 other article, without our permission, after the 1st of July next. 
 
 Resolved, That we will put said resolutions in force after 
 that date, (July next,) with the penalty of binding and throw- 
 ing them from the plantation, if they will not stay away 
 without. 
 
 These resolutions w^ere adopted by the tribe, and 
 put in force, as will be seen hereafter. It was hoped 
 that, though the whiles had done all they could to ex- 
 tinguish all sense of right among the Indians, they 
 would now see that they had feelings as well as other 
 men. 
 
 The petition to the corporation of Harvard set forth 
 the general dissatisfaction of the tribe with the missionary 
 sent them by that honorable body, according to the in- 
 tended application of the Williams Fund. The mon- 
 ey was no more intended for Mr, Fish than for any
 
 22 
 
 other clergyman; neither had the Indians given him a 
 call. They thought it right to let his employers know 
 that he had not done his duty, because he not only re- 
 ceived between five and six hundred dollars from the 
 college, but had possession of five or six hundred acres 
 of the tribe's best woodland, without their consent or ap- 
 probation, and converted them to his own exclusive use, 
 pretending that his claim and right to the same was 
 better than that of the owners themselves. Not liking 
 this, the Indians solicted his discharge. The document 
 runs thus: 
 
 To our white brethren at Harvard College and trustees of 
 the Williams fund, that is under the care of that body, for the 
 important use of converting the poor heathen in New England, 
 and who, we understand, by means of that fund, have placed 
 among us the Rev. Phineas Fish. 
 
 We thought it very likely that you would like to know if 
 'we, as a people, respected his person and labors, and whether 
 the money was benefiting the Indians or not. We think it 
 our duty to let you know all about it, and we do say, as the voico 
 of one, with but few exceptions, that we as a tribe, for a long 
 time, have had no desire to hear Mr. Fish preach, (which is 
 about ten years) and do say sincerely that we, as a body, wish 
 to have him discharged, not because we have anything against 
 his moral character, but we believe his labors would be more 
 useful somewhere else, and for these reasons, 
 
 1st. We, as a people, have not been benefited by his preach- 
 ing; for our moral character has not been built up, and there 
 has been no improvement in our intellectual powers, and we 
 know of no Indian that has been converted by his preaching. 
 
 2d. We seldom see him upon our plantation to visit us, as 
 a people. His visits are as follows — To one house, one visit 
 in one year — to another, two visits in five years — to another 
 one in seven—and to many, none at ^11. (We would here re- 
 mark that Mr. Fish has not improved, but rather lost ground ; 
 for biftory informs us tlmt such was the finxiety of the whiter
 
 23 
 
 that it was thought best to visit the Indians twice in one year, 
 and preach to them, so as to save them.) 
 
 3d. We think that twenty years are long enough for one 
 trial. Another reason is that you and the people think that we 
 are benefited by that fund, or money paid to him for preaching 
 to the Indians — and we are not White people are his visitors 
 and hearers. We would remark here that we have no objec- 
 tion to worship with our white neighbors, provided they come 
 as they ought to come, and not as thieves and robbers, and we 
 would ask all the world if the Marshpee Indians have not been 
 robbed of their rights. We wonder how the good citizens of 
 Boston, or any town would like to have the Indians send them 
 a preacher and force him into the pulpit and then send other 
 Indians to crowd the whites out of their own meeting house? 
 and not pay one cent for it. Do you think the white men 
 would like it? We trow, not; and we hope others will con- 
 sider, while they read our distressing tale. It will be perceived 
 that we have no objection if hundreds of other nations visit 
 our meeting house. We only want fair play ; for we have had 
 foul play enough. 
 
 4th. We do not believe but that we have as good a right to 
 the table of the Lord as others. We are kept back to the last, 
 merely because our skins are not so white as the whites', and 
 we know of no scriptures that justify him in so doing. (The 
 writer would here observe, that he wonders any person guilty of 
 a dark skin will submit to such unchristian usage, especially as 
 the minister is as willing to shear his black sheep as his white 
 ones. This being the case, ought he not to pay as much 
 regard to them ? Should he turn them loose to shift for them- 
 selves, at the risk of losing them ?) 
 
 5th. We never were consulted as to his settlement over us, 
 ai a people. We never gave our vote or voice, as a tribe, and 
 we fully believe that we are capable of choosing for ourselves^ 
 and have the right to do so, and we would now say to you, 
 that we have made choice of the Rev. Wm. Apes, of the Pe- 
 quod tribe, and have adopted him as one of ours, and shal^ 
 hear him preach, in preference to the'missionary, and we should 
 like to have him aided, if you can do it If not, we cannot 
 help it — ^he is ours — he is ours.
 
 24 
 
 Perhaps you have heard of the oppression of the Cherokees 
 and lamented over 'them much, and thought the Georgians 
 were hard and cruel creatures ; but did you ever hear of the 
 poor, oppressed and degraded Marshpee Indians in Massachu- 
 setts, and lament over them ? If not, you hear now, and we 
 have made choice of the Rev. Wm. Apes to relieve us, and 
 we hope that you will assist him. And if the above com- 
 plaints and reasons, and the following resolutions, will be sat- 
 isfactory, we shall be glad, and rejoice that you comply with 
 our request. 
 
 Resolved, That we will rule our own tribe and make choice 
 of whom we please for our preacher. 
 
 Resolved, That we will have our own meeting house, and 
 place in the pulpit whom we please to preach to us. 
 
 Resolved, That we will publish this to the world ; if the above 
 reasons and resolutions are not adhered to, and the Rev. Mr. 
 Fish discharged. 
 
 The foregoing addresses and resolutions were adopted by 
 & vote of the tribe, almost unanimous. Done at the Council 
 House at Marshpee, May the 21st, 1833, 
 
 EBENEZER ATT A Q,mN, President. 
 ISRAEL AMOS, Secretary. 
 
 The Hon. Josiah Quincy, President of the College, 
 promised to attend to this matter,said that he had long 
 been satisfied that the money from the Williams fund 
 had not been applied to the object for which it was in- 
 tended, and hinted at an intention to send no more to 
 Mr. Fish till he should be belter informed concerning 
 the matter. (We understood that he actually did retain 
 the money, though he never found leisure to make the 
 inquiry alluded to.) He said that, had it been in the 
 summer, he would have gone himself to the place. 
 Summer has passed away, and we have seen no Mr. 
 Quincy yet. We have heard that he was requested
 
 25 
 
 by several gentlemen to come and investigate our affairs, 
 but we suppose he thinks that the poor Marshpees can- 
 not have been wronged. However, as nothing has 
 been done, we think it is time that the public should 
 be made aware of our views and intentions. 
 
 Leaving Marshpee for New Bedford, 1 preached at 
 several places on my way, and delivered lectures on 
 Indian affairs. Many of the advocates of oppression 
 became clamorous, on hearing the truth from a simple 
 Indian's lips, and a strong excitement took place in that 
 quarter. 
 
 Some feared that an insurrection might break out 
 among the colored people, in which blood might be 
 shed. Some called me an imposter, and others ap- 
 proved of my proceedings, especially the Quakers, 
 whom I ever found benevolent and ready to help us. 
 Their generous good will toward colored people of all 
 races is well known. I feel bound to say, too, that 
 there were others of the highest respectability in those 
 parts who were anxious that their red brethren should 
 obtain their rights and redress of their grievances. 
 
 When the time t had fixed for my return to my 
 friends at Marshpee arrived, I turned thitherward, and 
 reached the place on the sixth of June. Here I met 
 the bhnd preacher, whom I had never before seen. 
 He bade me welcome, and cordially agreed to join me 
 ifi my labors, saying that God had listened to his prayers. 
 He had for several years prayed for an assistant, and 
 now consented to labor in conjunction with me for the 
 spiritual and temporal advantage of our brethren. We 
 went through the plantation together. On the Sabbath 
 3
 
 26 
 
 there was a large meeting, and the assistance of God 
 enabled me to preach to them, after which we set forth, 
 a sa delegation to the Governor and Council in Boston. 
 We stopped at several towns by the way, to discharge 
 our duties, as Christian ministers, and were kindly and 
 hospitably received by the teachers. 
 
 When we arrived in Boston, we communicated our 
 business to a certain doctor, who lived in Roxbury. 
 He did not think so favorably of it as we had expect- 
 ed ; but, nevertheless, agreed to lay it before the board 
 of trustees, which we presume he did, as he is a man 
 of truth. We told him that we asked for justice, not 
 money, and said that we wished the Marsbpee Indians 
 to avoid the meeting-house, if it did not belong to them. 
 W^ith this we left him, and have never heard from him 
 from that day to this. He is gone where his deeds 
 done in the flesh will receive their just reward ; which 
 1 hope is a crown of blessedness and glory. 
 
 We did not find the Governor in Boston ; but were 
 advised to wait on Mr. Armstrong, the Lieut. Govern- 
 or. We showed him our petition and resolutions, which 
 he said, would avail us nothing, unless enforced. We 
 answered that they would be enforced, at the appoint- 
 ed lime. He then suggested that we might have been 
 instigated to the measures in question by some of our 
 eaemies ; probably meaning some of our unprincipled 
 white neighbors. We replied that ill usage had been 
 our only instigation, and that no one had interfered in 
 the matter. He advised us to deliver our petition to 
 the Secretary of State, to be submitted to the Council at 
 their next session ; which we did.
 
 27 
 
 This done, we called on one of the tribe who was 
 engaged in the coasting business, and had done much to 
 teach the Indians, and to bring them to a right knowl- 
 edge of their degraded condition. He said that he 
 would willingly relinquish his business, and join in the 
 efforts of his brethren to shake off the yoke which gall- 
 ed them ; and thereupon it was resolved to hold a con- 
 vention on the twenty-fifth of June, for the purpose of 
 organizing a new government. He desired to be there, 
 and his name is Daniel Amos. 
 
 I now set out for Essex, where my family was liv- 
 ing, accompanied by the blind preacher. I put my 
 wife and little ones on board a small vessel, bound for 
 Boston, while I and my blind brother returned thither 
 by land. We all arrived safely, and soon after em- 
 barked for Barnstable, where we arrived on the eigh- 
 teenth of June, and landed at a spot about twelve miles 
 distant from the hospitable Indians. Here we found 
 ourselves breathing a new atmosphere. The people 
 were very litde prepossessed in our favor, and we cer- 
 tainly owe them small thanks on the score of hospital- 
 ity. We succeeded in obtaining the shelter of an old 
 stable for two nights, by paying two dollars. We ap- 
 plied to one individual for accommodations during that 
 time, for one of our party who was sick, but were re- 
 fused. He said he had no room. If any white man 
 should come to Marshpee and ask hospitality for anight 
 or two, I do not believe that one of the whole tribe 
 would turn him from his door, savages though they be. 
 Does not he better deserve the name who took from us 
 two dollars for sleeping in his stable ? This usage made 
 me think that in this part of New England prejudice
 
 28 
 
 was strong against the poor children of the woods, and 
 that any aid we might receive must come from the more 
 hospitable Indians, among whom we arrived on the 
 twenty-first, and rested till the twenty-fifth. We re- 
 garded ourselves, in 'some sort, as a tribe of Israelites 
 suffering under the rod of despotic Pharaohs ; for thus 
 far, our cries and remonstrances had been (ff^ no avail. 
 We were compelled to make our bricks w^'hout straw. 
 We now, in our synagogue, for the first time, con- 
 certed the form of a government, suited to the spirit 
 and capacity of free born sons of the forest ; after 
 the pattern set us by our white brethren. There 
 was but one exception, viz. that all who dwelt in our 
 precincts were to be held free and equal, in truth, as 
 well as in letter. Several officers, twelve in all, were 
 elected to give effect to this novelty of a government ; 
 the chief of whom were Daniel Amos, President, and 
 Israel Amos, Secretary. Having thus organized our- 
 selves, we gave notice to the former board of overseers, 
 and the public at large, of our intentions. This was 
 the form of our proclamation. 
 
 NOTICE. 
 Marshpee Plantation, June ^5th, 1833. 
 Having heretofore been distressed, and degraded, and rob- 
 bed daily, we have taken measures to put a stop to these 
 things. — And having made choice of our own town officers 
 to act instead of the whites, and having acquainted the Gov- 
 ernor of our affairs and resolution*, he has nothing against our 
 putting them in force.* And now we would say to our white 
 
 * Here we were a little mistaken, not knowing in our ignorance, that 
 we were making the Lieut. Governor commander in chief, and using 
 his name to nullify the existing laws. Nevertheless, our mistake was 
 not greater than many that have been made to pass current by the soph- 
 istry of the whites, and we acted in accordance with the spirit of the 
 gonstitution, unless that instrument be a device of utter deception
 
 29 
 
 friends, we are wanting nothing but our rights betwixt man 
 and man. And now, rest assured that said resolutions will 
 be enforced after the first day of July, 1833. Done at the 
 National Assembly of the Marshpee Tribe, and by the authority 
 of the same. 
 
 DANIEL AMOS, President. 
 ISRAEL AMOS, Secretary, 
 
 Hereupon the Missionary and agents and all who 
 put faith in them, combined together to work our de- 
 struction, as is well known to all men. 
 
 We then proceeded to discharge all the officers ap- 
 pointed by the Governor and Council, firmly believing 
 that each and every one of the existing laws concerning 
 the poor Israelites of Marshpee was founded on wrong 
 and misconception. We also forwarded a letter and 
 resolution to Gideon Hawley, to the effect that we were 
 dissatisfied with his proceedings with regard to our 
 affairs and with those of the other officers, that we 
 -desired their stay among us no longer, that we were 
 seeking our rights and meant lo have them, and we 
 therefore demanded cf them all a final settlement, 
 and warned them not to violate our regulations. The 
 resolution was as follows : 
 
 Resolvedy That we will no longer accede to your terras 
 after the first day of July next, 1833. 
 
 Done by the authority of the Marshpee Tribe. 
 
 DANIEL AMOS, President 
 . ISRAEL AMOS, Secretary, 
 
 We also proceeded to discharge the missionary, 
 telling him that he and the white people had occupied 
 3#
 
 30 
 
 our meeting house long enough, and that we now want- 
 ed it for our own use. We likewise gave him notice 
 that we had complained against him to the authorities 
 at Harvard. 
 
 Those who had, as we think unlawfully, ruled us 
 hitherto, now awoke in astonishment, and bestirred 
 themselves in defence of their temporal interests. Mr. 
 Hawley was despatched to the Governor at Worcester, 
 to whom he represented the state of affairs in colors 
 which we cannot acknowledge to have been faithful. 
 He slated that the Indians were in open rebellion, and 
 that blood was likely to be shed. It was reported and 
 believed among us that he said we had armed ourselves, 
 and were prepared to carry all before us with toma- 
 hawk and scalping knife ; that death and destruction, 
 and all the horrors of a savage war, were impending ; 
 that of the white inhabitants some were already dead, 
 and the rest dreadfully alarmed ! An awful picture 
 indeed. 
 
 However, several weeks previous to this the Governor 
 and Council had been apprised of what was going for- 
 ward, and had authorised one of the Council to visit the 
 tribe, in order to hold counsel, and if possible, restore 
 peace among them. But the first of July arrived 
 before he came, and we did even as we had pledged 
 ourselves to do, having in view no other end than the 
 assertion and resumption of our rights. Two of the 
 whites, indeed, proved themselves enemies to the Indi- 
 ans, by holding themselves in readiness to break up the 
 new gavernmenf, and daring them to carry it into effect. 
 They were brothers, and one of them has since gone lu
 
 31 
 
 Ills reward. Their name was Sampson. They carue, 
 in defiance of our resolutions, to take away our wood, 
 in carts. As I was walking in the woods, I discovered 
 them in the act of removing our property, and called 
 to him who was the owner of the teams to come near 
 me. He complied, and appeared much agitated as he 
 approached. I mildly stated to him the views and 
 intentions of the tribe, saying that it was not their design 
 to wrong or harm any man in the least, and that we 
 wished them to desist till we should have had a settle- 
 ment with the Overseers, afier which every thing should 
 be placed upon a proper footing. I begged them lu 
 desist, for the sake of peace ; but it was to no purpose. 
 They said that they knew what they were about, and 
 were resolved to load their teams. I answered, that 
 the men who owned the w'ood w-ere resolved to carry 
 their resolutions into force ; and asked if they had not 
 seen the notification we had posted up. One of them 
 replied that he had seen, but had not taken much notice 
 of it. I again told them that the owners of the wood 
 were at hand, and by the time one of the teams was 
 laden, the Indians came up. I then asked William 
 Sampson, who was a member of the missionary's church, 
 if he would, even then, unload his team and wait till 
 things were more quiet ; to which he replied that he 
 would not. I then, having previously cautioned the 
 Indians to do no bodily injury to any man, unless in 
 their own defence, but to stand for their rights, and 
 nothing else, desired them to unload the teams, which 
 they did very promptly. One of the Sampsons, who 
 was a justice of the peace, forbade them, and threat- 
 ened to prosecute them for thus protecting their own
 
 32 
 
 property, which had no other effect than to incite them 
 to work more diligently. When they had done, I told 
 the justice, that he had, perhaps, better encourage 
 others to carry away what did not belong to them, and 
 desired the teamsters to depart. They said they would, 
 seeing that it was useless to attempt to load the carts. 
 Throughout this transaction the Indians uttered neither 
 a threat nor an unkind word, but the white men used 
 very bitter language at being thus, for the first time, 
 hindered from taking away what had always been as a 
 lawful spoil to them hitherto. 
 
 The defeated Sampsons hurried off to get the aid of 
 legal might to overcome right, and were wise enough to 
 trouble the Indians no further. The tribe were thus 
 left in peaceable possession of all their property. Mr 
 Fish stated in his report of the case, that we wanted 
 possession of the mission house ; but in this he was mis- 
 taken. No such thing was intended or even mentioned 
 among us, though it is true that the meeting-house and 
 the two school houses, and all the land, excepting that 
 on which Mr. Fish's house stood, were in our hands. 
 
 The Indians now made it part of their business to 
 watch their property ; being determined to disappoint 
 the rapacity of the whites. They soon learned that the 
 Governor had sent an envoy to deal with them, and the 
 news cheered their hearts not a little ; for they earnestly 
 wished for peace and quietness. A verbal message was 
 brought, desiring us to meet him. We replied by ask- . 
 ing why the agent did not come to us, if the Governor 
 had sent him for that purpose, instead of going to a 
 tavern and calling on us to come to him there. I now 
 suppose that this proceeding on his part was not so
 
 33 
 
 much his fauh as that of one Ezra Crocker, who receiv- 
 ed twenty dollars per annum for entertaining the Indians 
 in his house, and who not unfrequently thrust them out 
 of doors. Nevertheless, we sent the agent an answer 
 in writing, to the following effect. 
 
 To the Honorable Agent sent by the Governor to inquire info 
 
 our affairs. 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 We are much gratified to see that the Governor 
 haa noticed us so much as to inquire into our affairs. Your 
 request could not be attended to yesterday ; our people being 
 very busy in the affairs of the day ; but we will meet you with 
 pleasure this morning at nine o'clock, at our meeting-house, 
 there being no other place where we should like to see you 
 for an interview. 
 
 DANIEL AMOS, President. 
 July 4th, 1833. 
 
 At the time appointed, we met the Counsellor, and 
 he appeared to enjoy himself very well among us. 
 When the meeting had been called to order, it was ob- 
 served that the Overseers were not present, and it was 
 proposed to send for them, that they might have fair 
 play and hear of what faults they were accused. They 
 came, accompanied by the High Sheriff of Barnstable 
 County, the Hon. J. Reed of Yarmouth, and several 
 other whites, who were invited to take seats among us. 
 The excitement which pervaded Cape Cod had brought 
 these people to our council, and they now heard such 
 preaching \\i our meeting-house as they had never 
 heard there before ; the bitter complainings of the In- 
 dians of the wrongs they had suffered. Every charge 
 was separately investigated by our people, who gave 
 the entire day to the work. The white persons present
 
 34 
 
 seemed very uneasy ; often getting up, going out 
 and returning, as if apprehensive of some danger. 
 The ground work of their fears, if they had any, was 
 this : Three of our people, who had been out in the 
 morning, hunting deer, had brought their guns into the 
 meeting house, and this circumstance was thought, or 
 pretended to be thought by a few of our neighbors to 
 portend violence and murder. Also the Counsellor 
 had brought a letter from the Governor, indicating that 
 he had been led, by wrong reports, to believe that 
 something of the kind was likely to take place.* 
 
 This letter was read to the people, and was to them 
 as a provocation and a stimulus. They thought it griev- 
 ous that the Governor should think they had put him in 
 mind of his oath of office, to secure the Commonwealth 
 from danger, and given him cause to call out perhaps 
 fifty or sixty thousand militia ; especially when the great 
 strength and power of the Marshpee tribe was consid- 
 ered. To this supposed great demonstration of military 
 power they might, possibly, have opposed a hundred 
 fighting men and fifteen or twenty rusty guns. But it 
 is written, " One shall chase a thousand, and two shall 
 put ten thousand to flight ;" so there might have been 
 some reason for persons who believe the Bible to fear 
 us. Who can say that little Marshpee might not have 
 discomfitted great Massachusetts. Nevertheless, the 
 birth place of American freedom was spared so great a 
 
 * *• In respect to the measures you may deem advisable, let them 
 be confined in their adoption to an application of the civil power. 
 If there is resistance, the Sheriff will, with your advice, call out 
 the posse comitatus, and should there be reason to fear the inefl&- 
 ciency of this resort, I will be present personally, to direct any 
 military requisitions," &c.
 
 35 
 
 disgrace ; for the governor, very wisely, remained at 
 home. 
 
 Toward the close of the day Mr. Fish desired the 
 Hon. Mr. Reed to explain to the Indians the laws, as 
 they then stood, and the consequences of violating 
 them. He told us that merely declaring a law to be 
 oppressive could not abrogate it ; and that it would be- 
 come us, as good citizens whom the government was 
 disposed to treat well, to wait for the session of the 
 Legislature, and then apply for rehef * " He went 
 fully," says one reporter, whose name it may be well 
 to omit, " into the situation of the tribe, in a very 
 forcible and feeling manner, warning them against the 
 rash measures theyhad already taken or adopted. 
 
 Mr. Fish then pathetically stated his opinions con- 
 cerning the awful consequences which would result 
 from a violation of the laws, and spoke much at large 
 of the parental feeling of government for the remnant 
 of a once mighty and distinguished race. Wm. Apes 
 replied that the laws ought to be altered without delay; 
 that it was perfectly manifest that they were unconsti- 
 tutional, and that, even if they were not so, there was 
 nothing in them to authorize the white inhabitants to 
 act as they had done. Being very anxious to learn 
 what amount of good his brethren might expect, he 
 spoke with an energy that alarmed some of the whites 
 present considerably. The Hon. Mr. Reed questioned 
 him as to his right to interfere. He replied that he 
 had obtained it by the adoption of the tribe. 
 
 * Surely it was either insult or wrong to call the Marshpee* 
 citizens, for such they never were, from the declaration of inds- 
 pendence up to the session of the Legislature in 1S34.
 
 36 
 
 Mr. Reed, if I correctly understood him, answered 
 that the Indians had no right to do such an act ; no 
 power to confer such a privilege. I replied, that if 
 the plantation belonged to them, they undoubtedly had a 
 right to give me leave to dwell upon it. Many other 
 things he said of which I could not see the reasonable- 
 ness and propriety, and therefore we could not come 
 to an agreement. 
 
 While these things were being done and said, as I 
 have reason to believe, a warrant for my apprehension 
 was put into the hands of the High Sheriff, who, it 
 appeared to me, was not very desirous to execute it. 
 He approached me, and with some agitation, told me I 
 must go with him toCatuiot; and added, that if I did not 
 accompany him peaceably, he would have out the whole 
 county of Barnstable. I was not conscious of giving 
 any cause for this 'perturbation of mind, but I suppose 
 others saw my conduct in a different light. It is admitted 
 by all that nothing was done contrary to good order, 
 though I admit, that if I had refused to obey the war- 
 rant, the Sheriff would not have been able to enforce it. 
 The fact is I was in no wise unwilling to go with him, 
 or to have my conduct brought to the test of investiga- 
 tion, or to give all the satisfaction that might be required, 
 had it appeared that I had done wrong. I was also 
 very desirous to have the tfuth appear, viz. that it was 
 not the intention or wish of the Marshpees to do vio- 
 lence or shed blood. 
 
 The Sheriff told me that 1 should not suffer any 
 injury or injustice, and that I should have a hearing in 
 the presence of my friend, Mr Fish. I went with him 
 very quietly. The excitement ran very high, and
 
 37 
 
 almost all Cotiiet was present at my examination. If 
 wishes could have availed, I doubt not that I should have 
 been ruined forever. I was arraicrned on three char":es : 
 
 O D 
 
 for riot, assault, and trespass ; and pleaded not guilty. 
 
 The Messrs. Sampsons, four in number, were called, 
 and testified as follows, That on the first day of July, 
 between eight and nine, A. M. they were carting wood 
 from the Marshpee plantation, that they were hailed by 
 Wm. Apes, and forbidden by him to take any wood 
 away until a settlement with the overseers should have 
 been had ; that the said Apes threatened them that he 
 would call his men if they persisted, who would " cut 
 up a shine ivith them, ^^"^ {the Sampsons.) They all 
 agreed, however, that no unchristian temper was man- 
 ifested, and no indecorous language used. They 
 admitted that they had no fear for their personal safety, 
 and that no harm was done to any of the persons con- 
 cerned, save unloading their teams, and ordering them 
 to depart. 
 
 ?Jow if I had taken any neighbors' wood without his 
 leave, and he had thrown it out of my cart, and told 
 me to go away, and had given me no farther molesta- 
 tion, I should think I had gotten off very easily. If a 
 poor Indian wishes to get into a jail or penitentiary, 
 that is just the course I would advise him to pursue. I 
 leave it to the reader to say who were the persons 
 
 * I do not recollect uttering this expression, and it is not 
 one that I am in the habit of using. It surprised me much, 
 too, that the Sampsons should all swear alike, when it was 
 impossible that they could have heard alike. If I used the 
 word shine, it must have been in speaking to Mr. William 
 Sampson, in a lew tone, about fifty yards from the others.
 
 38 
 
 agrieved and injured, and that had the right to complain 
 of trespass. 
 
 It was thought proper, by those who had the power 
 so to do, to bind me over to appear and take my trial 
 before the Court of Common Pleas, at the next session, 
 in the sum of two hundred dollars, and sureties for the 
 like amount w^ere also required. Compliance was not 
 difficult. I had only to send for Lemuel Ewer, Esq. 
 of South Sandwich, who had, in former times, been the 
 treasurer of the tribe, knew their wrongs, and was their 
 friend. It was well for me that there was one man 
 who knew on which side the right lay, and had the 
 courage to support it, for I verily believe that no other 
 person would have dared to become my bondsman. I 
 owe Mr. Ewer the justice further to say that he has 
 done much to advance the interests of the Marshpee 
 tribe, by giving information respecting them to the Le- 
 gislative body, for which we cannot easily show our 
 gratitude. 
 
 The Cotueters now waxed exceedingly wroth at 
 what Mr. Ewer had done. Truth had been shot into 
 their hearts, and if I should say that they bellowed 
 like mad bulls, and spouted like whales, gored mortally 
 by the harpoon, I do not think the figure of speech 
 would be too strong. Mr. Crocker, the contractor or 
 agent, for our wood, felt himself especially aggrieved 
 that I had gotten bail, and was let loose upon the plan- 
 tation, to hinder him in his business. His life, he 
 thought, would be in danger. There was a great deal 
 of loose talk and a pretty considerable uproar. 
 
 While I was waiting for Mr. Ewer, to bail me, I had 
 some conversation with the Hon. J. J. Fiske, who
 
 39 
 
 expressed himself concerned about the Indians, and 
 thought that something ought to be done. 1 said to 
 him that my object was to get them righted, and allowed 
 that I might possibly have gone too fast and far. In 
 this I am now satisfied that I was mistaken. I believe 
 that neither I nor any of my brethren went fast enough. 
 I think there is no white man, Christian or Infidel, who 
 would have shown half so much forbearance as we did 
 in the hke circumstances. Mr.Fiske said he would do 
 all he could for me, and I have no doubt that he did so. 
 It was very proper in him to endeavor to quiet the 
 whites. The Indians were already quiet, and had no 
 disposition to be otherwise. 
 
 Nevertheless, it seemed to be the common opinion 
 that the imprisonment of Apes would frighten the rest 
 of the tribe, and cause them to forego their efforts to 
 recover tlieir rights. Had this been the case, they 
 might have carted a few more good suppers and din- 
 ners out of our woods, and have eaten them on their 
 town meeting days, for two or three days together, 
 twice in the year, and have thrown the bones and crusts 
 to the poor, old and ignorant, among the natives, as 
 they had done, year after year. The missionary, as 
 usual, might have helped them to devour the spoil, and 
 have seen his flock degraded and abused, before his 
 eyes. Much was also said about the pains that had 
 been taken to educate the Marshpees, and it was aver- 
 red, that, instead of going to the schools opened for 
 tliem, they preferred going about the country picking 
 berries, and basket making. jMr. Crocker said he had 
 been at great pains to induce the Indians to go to school. 
 Let him who has been prejudiced against the Marsha
 
 40 
 
 pees, by such argument, look at the les^islative act of 
 17S9, section 5, for the regulation of the plantation, 
 prohibiting the instruciion of the Marsh pees, in reading 
 and writing, under pain of death. Who, then, dared 
 to teach them ? 
 
 Mr. Hawley, the former missionary, spent fifty or 
 sixty years in Marshpee. He is mentioned in the his- 
 tory of Berkshire County, as a schoolmaster, for the 
 Mohawks, Onedias and Tuscaroras, in 1743, and 
 nothing more is known of him, up to his arrival in 
 Marshpee. Tlilther he came to teach, in A. D. 1757, 
 and there he staid till his death. What his care to 
 educate the tribe was, may be judged from the facts 
 that he did not teach one Indian to read during his res- 
 idence among them, as I am informed by those who 
 knew him. He had probably imbibed the opinion that 
 the natives were incapable of being taught, and therefore 
 spared himself trouble that he thouglit w^ould be of no 
 use. Nevertheless, he was willing to preach to them, 
 and had a good portion of their land set off for his 
 support. Truth obliges me to say that not one Indian 
 was converted during the fifty years of his ministry. 
 The neighbouring whites were the sole recipients of 
 the good resulting from his labors, if there was any. 
 Speaking on this subject, the Rev. Cotton Mather 
 Smith says that the arrangements for managing Indian 
 schools were never thoroughly made ; admirable as 
 was the general plan, and much as it promised. I 
 think I may safely vouch for the truth and honesty of 
 the reverend gentleman's admission. 
 
 Mr. Fish succeeded Mr. Hawley, in 1809, and 
 was confirmed in his office by the authorities at Har-.
 
 41 
 
 vard, and the white overseers at Marshpee. The ar- 
 rangement was sanctioned by the General Court, in 
 1811 ; contrary to law, as we think. Surely it 
 takes two sides to naake a bargain, and the consent of 
 the Indians was never asked or obtained. Both of 
 the divines mentioned above were willing to have the 
 use of the property of the Marshpees ; I fear, under 
 a mere pretext of doing them good ; and, therefore, 
 that they and the overseers might have a support from 
 the plantation, the owners were constantly proclaimed 
 to be savages. I wonder what the whites would say, 
 should the Indians take possession of any part of their 
 property. Many and many a red man has beep 
 butchered for a less wrong than the Marshpees com- 
 plain of. 
 
 Neither of the reverend gentlemen set up schools, 
 and when the Marshpee children were put out to ser- 
 vice, it was with the express understanding, as their 
 parents all agree, that they should not be schooled. 
 Many of those who held them in servitude, used them 
 more like dogs than human beings, feeding them 
 scantily, lodging them hard, and clothing them with • 
 rags. Such I believe has always been the case about 
 Indian reservations. I had a sister who was slavishly 
 used and half starved ; and I have not forgotten, nor 
 can I ever forget, the abuse 1 received myself. To 
 keep Indian children from hearing the gospel preach- 
 ed in a land of gospel privileges, in order that they 
 might do work unbefitting the Sabbath at. home, 
 has been the practice, almost without an exception, 
 wherever I have had opportunity to observe. I think 
 that the Indians ought to keep the twenty-fifth of 
 4*
 
 42 
 
 December,* and the fourth of July, as days of fasting 
 and lamentation, and dress themselves, and their houses, 
 and their catde, in mourning weeds, and pray to 
 Heaven for deliverance from their oppressions ; for 
 surely there is no joy in those days for the man of 
 color. 
 
 Let the reader judge from what has been stated, 
 what good the Marshpee Indians' have derived from 
 their two missionaries, 1 say boldly, none at all. On 
 the contrary, they have been in the way of the good 
 that would have been done by others. I say also that 
 all the religious advantages the Indians have enjoy- 
 ed, have come from other ministers, and members of 
 other churches. I am equally sure that the money 
 paid for our use, from the Williams Fund, has been a 
 curse, and not a blessing to us. Had some good 
 Christian minister come to the tribe with half the sum, 
 there is no doubt that God would have made him an in- 
 strument to raise up a respectable Christian Society ; 
 whereas the fund has only served to build up the mis- 
 sionaries and the whites about the plantation. I am glad 
 that it has done even this good ; though it be to our ene- 
 mies ; for I am not of a spirit to envy the prosperity 
 of others; I rejoice in it. But I sincerely think it is 
 wrong in the whites to take the gospel from the In- 
 dians, as they do in Marshpee, by occupying their 
 meeting-house, and receiving the benefit of the mis- 
 sionary fund. I mean that the people about Cotuet 
 and Marshpee go to our house, and fill it, to our exclu- 
 sion, without any charge ; while the Indians are en- 
 forced by the laws which deprive them of the u.se of 
 *" Christmas.
 
 43 
 
 their own lands, to pay a heavy tax, from which they 
 derive no benefit. Is not depriving them of all meansy 
 of mental culture the worst of all robberies ? Can it 
 be wondered, that the Indians become more and more 
 degraded ? I presume all honest people will regret 
 that such, has been the case. It will be seen that both 
 the missionaries and their white followers, imbibed all 
 the prejudices of the day, and by disseminating them, 
 hindered others from doing us good. This is no ex- 
 cuse, however, for the government of this Common- 
 wealth, whose duty it was to see that its red children 
 were not abused in this w^ay. We greatly fear that 
 our white fathers did not much care about their color- 
 ed children in JMarshpce. At any rate, it may be some 
 satisfaction to the philanthropists in the country to 
 know how liberal they have been to their poor de- 
 pendants. 
 
 To begin — the Indians owe nothing to the Com- 
 monwealth of Massachusetts, or to the inhabitants 
 of New England generally, for religious instruction, 
 excepting a single appropriation of four hundred dol- 
 lars, made in 1816 or 1818, for repairing their Meet- 
 ing-house. Four hundred dollars more were appro- 
 priated in 1831, fertile purposes of erecting two school 
 houses ; but not one cent for a teacher.^ 
 
 * By an Act of the Legislature in April last, 1S35, One 
 Hundred Dollars is hereafter to be appropriated annually, 
 from the School Fund, for the public schools in Marshpee. 
 For this liberal act the Marshpees are indebted to the repre- 
 Bentations made to the Committee on education by their 
 Counsel, B. F. Hallett, Esq. This is an evidence of the 
 paternal care of the Legislature., for which we can never bo 
 too grateful.
 
 44 
 
 The way the Marshpees liave supported a school 
 hitherto, has been this. Some of them have Jived 
 abroad among the whites, and have learned to read 
 and write, with perhaps some small smattering of 
 arithmetic. On returning to the tribe, they have 
 taught others what they knew themselves ; receiving 
 pay from those who had the means, and teaching the 
 rest gratuitously. At the same time they have been 
 compelled to support a preacher whom they did not 
 wish to hear, and to pay, in one way or other, to the 
 amount of four hundred dollars per annum to white 
 officers, for doing them injury and not good. Thus 
 then, in one hundred and forty years they have paid 
 fifty-six thousand dollars to the whites, out of their 
 own funds, in obedience to the laws of the Common- 
 wealth. In return, the whites have given them one 
 thousand in labor and money. Truly the Common- 
 wealth must make haste, or it will hardly be able to 
 pay us the interest of our money. The principal we 
 never expect to get. 
 
 Thus, though it is manifest that we have cost the 
 governmentabsolutely much less than nothing, we have 
 been called State paupers, and as such treated. Those 
 are strange paupers who maintain themselves, and pay 
 large sums to others into the bargain. Heigho ! it is 
 a fine thing to be an Indian. One might almost as 
 well be a slave. 
 
 To return to the proceedings of the court at Cotuet : 
 When supper time was past, the Cotueter's were anx- 
 ious to draw something out of me, by questioning. 
 They said they knew more about the matter than I 
 did ; that I had gotten myself into difficulty, and that
 
 45 
 
 Air. Fish was a good man, and had gained tv>-entj 
 members over to his church in tweniy-five years. 
 They might have added that these were infants, who 
 became meirjbers merely by undergoing the rite of 
 baptism. Perhaps i!iey were very good members, 
 when they grew up — perhaps not. 
 
 Mr. Fish, alluding to the cnarge that but eight or 
 ten of the Indians heard him preach, stated, in his 
 memorial to the Legislature, that more than twice ten 
 were upon his Sabbath School list. That might be 
 true; but it was no answer to the charge. There may 
 well have been on his list the names of so many per- 
 sons, v;ho attended neither his meeting nor his school. 
 Nor had he' denied the statements of the Indians in 
 the least.. 1 said to the gentlemen who were rejoicing 
 over my supposed dowiifall, that 1 was glad they had 
 taken me into custody, as it would lead to an investi- 
 gation of the whole ground in dispute. Mr. Ewer 
 presently arrived ; his bail was accepted, and I and 
 my friends returned home. 
 
 On the seventh of July, I was again visited by the 
 Hon. J. J. Fiske, who conversed freely with me on 
 our religious affairs. He said it would be better for 
 us to turn Congregationalists, as then we should prob- 
 ably be able to get assistance from the fund. I repli- 
 ed, that I cared little by what name I was called ; for 
 I was no sectarian, but could unite in the worship of 
 God with all good Christians. It seemed to be the 
 opinion of the Hon. J. J. Fiske, that k was wrong for 
 the Rev. Mr. Fish to receive the salary he did, with- 
 out attending to the concerns of the ludians^ 
 
 .^'.
 
 46 
 
 On the sixth, the head men of the tribe held a 
 meeting, and agreed to rescind the former meetings 
 until the session of the Legislature, as the comn\is- 
 sioner had fairly stated that whatever could be done • 
 for us, would be done' by that honourable body. We 
 could do no less than accept a promise coming from so 
 high an authority, and^ await the leisure of our father, 
 the Legislature, though he had neglected us and suffer- 
 ed us to be abused. Who could say but that he would 
 uplift his voice and weep aloud, on hearing the story 
 of our wrongs, as Joseph and his brethren, did when 
 they recognized each other. And indeed, though our 
 tender parent proved a little hard-hearted at first, by 
 and by there was a little relenting toward his poor 
 suffering babes of the woods, as will be seen in the 
 proper place. The following notice was drawn up 
 accordingly : 
 
 Whereas, certain resolutions have been made by us, the 
 Marshpee Indians, in reference to our plantation, we do here- 
 by solemnly declare, upon the security of the Governor's 
 Counsel,* that we shall be righted ; and that there shall be a 
 change of government, if necessary, and 'that the governor 
 has pledged himself to do right, and that the property sold 
 for money or otherwise disposed of, shall be refunded to us 
 again, and that justice shall be done. Now, in consideration 
 thereof, we do hereby guaranty to our white neighbours that 
 they shall not be molested in their lawful concerns upian our 
 plantation, provided that no white man meddles or interferes 
 in any way whatever in our lawful affairs ; and that you may 
 understand that it is so, we say the resolutions are revoked, 
 aoad we will wait with pleasure the sitting of the Legislature. 
 
 Done by order of the Marshpee Tribe, July 6, 1833. 
 
 DANIEL AMOS, President 
 
 ISRAEL AMOS, Secretary. 
 
 * Meaning Er.voy^
 
 47 
 
 Soon after this, the Commissioner departed, and I 
 saw him no more till the sitting of the General Court. 
 About this time our affairs got into the public prints, 
 and it was reported through the whole land that there 
 were hostile movements among the Indians at Cape 
 Cod, or Buzzard's Bay. All the editors were very 
 willing to speak on the favorite topic of Indian wrongs ; 
 bu; very few of them said any thing about redress. 
 On this head they were either silent or against us. 
 Here and there was found one liberal and independent 
 enough to speak in our behalf. Some of these arti- 
 cles shall be given, that it may be seen who were for 
 or against our rights and privileges. It will be proper 
 to state in the first place, however, that from July 4, 
 to the silting of the Court of Common Pleas, in 
 September, there was little disturbance upon the plan- 
 tation. We thought, from what we heard among the 
 whites that they were inclined to spare no pains to 
 frighten us ; but we listened patiently and remained 
 quiet, according to our promise. 
 
 In August, we had a four-day meeting, which was 
 the means of much good. Twelve Indians were re- 
 deemed from sin, and during the eighteen months that 
 I have known them, the power of God has been man- 
 ifested in the conversion of some thirty. God forbid 
 that I should glorify myself; I only mention the cir- 
 cumstance to show that the Marshpees are not incapa- 
 ble of improvement, as their enemies would have the 
 world suppose. But, under these circumstances, is it 
 not natural for the Indians to think that their missiona- 
 ries have cared less for saving their souls than for filling 
 their own pockets, and that their thousands have been
 
 48 
 
 expended on tiiern to very small purpose ? I do think 
 that the result of this meeting was in no wise pleas- 
 ing to our white enemies. 
 
 At harvest time the reapers cut their grain and car- 
 ried it to their granaries. But they were under the 
 control of their task masters. A dispute arose. A 
 woman whose husband was absent, doing business upon 
 the great waters, claimed a portion of the grain, while 
 the overseers maintained that it belonged to them. 
 She applied for assistance to one of the true proprie- 
 tors, who, in the presence of five or six men who were 
 with the overseer's team, unloaded it, and placed the 
 grain where it ought to have been. 1 was present and 
 happened to smile at this novel proceeding, which, I 
 suppose was the cause of a prosecution that presently 
 took place for trespass. My horse had bitten off five 
 or six rye heads in a rye field, for which enormity his 
 owner was obliged to pay ten dollars, though the actual 
 damage was not to the vahue of six cents. I will not 
 retort the petty malice which prompted this mean act 
 of revenge, by mentioning names. I now proceed to 
 mark out the state of public feeling, by some extracts 
 from the newspapers. The following is from the Nevr 
 Bedford Press, of June 1, 1833: 
 
 MARSHPEE INDIANS. 
 
 The remnfiiits of that race of men who once owned and 
 inhabited the forests and prairies of the Old Colony that have 
 now given place to large and populous villages and the busy 
 hum of civilized man, are, it v/ould seem, somewhat dissat- 
 isfied with the manner in which they are governed by the 
 State authority. Communications illustrative of the condi-
 
 49 
 
 tion of the Marshpee Indians in the County of Barnstable, 
 have been forwarded to us by the agent of the tribe, by which 
 it appears that they have been abused. Intelligence from 
 other quarters comes fraught with bitter complaint, and there 
 can be no manner of doubt that too ample room remains for 
 the improvement of their condition. The communications at 
 hand advise the Indians to stand out for their right to appoint 
 their own overseers, and do all business now especially done 
 by the State. That they ought to be allowed this privilege, 
 {i^ privilege it may be called,) there is no question ; but there 
 is a question, whether this is the first important step to be 
 taken. By a list of names which accompanies our advices, it 
 appears that very few are able to write their own names, their 
 mark being affixed instead ; and in, addition to this, we are 
 informed that there are many who cannot even r^ad. With 
 this view of their condition the correct and efficient course to 
 be pursued would seem to be that of sending Education 
 Missionaries among them, that in contending for their rights, 
 of which they say they are deprived, they may be enabled to 
 act understandingly. 
 
 This mny serve to show that t[)e MarsJjijees had 
 loni£ been dissatisfied with their government, and that 
 very many complaints had been made ; wliich will be 
 illustrated by extracts from divers petitions, in another 
 page. Tlie next refers to t'he Marshpee trials, and is 
 sigjied in^ a^ manner signifying that the writer speaks 
 advisedly, and from knowledge. 
 
 From the Barnstable Journal of July 18, 1833. 
 
 Mr. Apes was arrested at the Marshpee Plantation on the 
 4th, by order of the Executive, and required to give bond for 
 his good behaviour. 
 
 Mr. Apes now says, that this statement is not correct ; that 
 the Governor has ordered no such thing, and that he never 
 was requested in all his life to give bond for his behavior. 
 
 Much has been said in and out of the papers about the In- 
 dians in Marshpee. All that the Indians want in Marshpee is 
 5
 
 50 
 
 to enjoy their rights without molestation. They have hurt 
 or harmed no one. They have only been searching out 
 their rights, and in so doing, exposed and uncovered, have 
 thrown aside the mantle of deception, that honest men might 
 behold and see for themselves their wrongs. The Indiana 
 could spread columns before the world which vvould cause the 
 hearts of good men to be sad, and recoil at the conduct of 
 their white brothers. All that Mr. A. wishes is, that people 
 would tell the truth. 
 
 A BEHOLDER. 
 
 With regard to this article, I have to say that it 
 speaks the truth. If an honest white man could look 
 into our private afiairs and know what wrongs we have 
 suffered, it would change Ijis complexion to a hue 
 redder than the Indian's. But the crimes committed 
 a2;njnst our race cannot be enumerated here below. 
 They will each and all, however, be judged at the 
 bar of God, and il must be the comfort of the poor 
 and oppressed, who cry for justice and find it not, 
 that there is one who sees and knows, and will do 
 right. The next is from the Boston Daily Advo- 
 cate, of July 12. 
 
 Rev. Mr. Apes, who has been conspicuous in the Marshpee 
 nullification, has, we learn, been taken and committed to jail in 
 Barnstable county ; upon what process, we are hot informed, 
 but we trust, for the honor of the State, that while our mouths 
 are yet full of bitterness against Georgian violence, upon the 
 Indians, we shall not imitate their example. 
 
 Howti'ue it is that men see tiie faults of others, 
 rather than their own. If the good people of Massa- 
 chuseits were as ready to do right as to have the 
 Georgians do right, the Marshpee Indians might, per-
 
 51 
 
 haps, send a Representative to the Legislature. 1 
 hope the remark will give no offence. The next is 
 from the same print, of July 15, 1833. 
 
 The Marshpee affairs, we are gratified to learn, are more 
 quiet than they have been. Tlie Indians took forcible po8ses- 
 sion of the Meeting-house the other day, and have retained 
 it ever since, but no farther act has been committed on their 
 part. They notified Mr. Fish that they had dismissed him 
 from their Parish, and also formally gave notice to the over- 
 seers that their offices were at an end. Hon. J. J. Fiske, of 
 the Executive Council, has visited the Indians, by request of 
 the Governor, and has, we learn, discharged the duty in a 
 highly conciliatory and discreet manner. The Indians would 
 not at first consent to see him, but being satisfied of the dis- 
 position of the Executive to listen to their grievances, they 
 met Mr. Fiske alone in the Meeting-house, where, by their 
 special request, the overseers also appeared. The Sheriff of 
 the county, Hon. John Reed, and others, were also present. 
 About one hundred of the Indians appeared, many of them 
 armed with guns. They were perfectly under the command 
 of Apes, but all of them conducted with propriety, and seem- 
 ed peaceably disposed. Mr. Fiske heard their complaints for 
 one day. Their demands were to have the overseers remov- 
 ed, and the books and funds, now in the hands of the Treas- 
 urer, transferred to them ; and in fact to be lefl to the entire 
 management of their afi'airff. It was explained to them that 
 the Governor had no power to do this, if he were so disposed. 
 That he could only change their overseers, and lay their com- 
 plaints before the Legislature, who alone could alter the laws 
 now governing the plantation. To this. Apes would not 
 agree, insisting that they should be relieved of the guardian- 
 ship of the State, and that the Governor could do it at once. 
 
 He was questioned as to his own right to be on the planta- 
 tion, to which he does not belong, and finding all argument 
 useless with him. Apes was arrested in the assembly, (where 
 he was acting as moderator,) upon a warrant for assault and 
 trespass, in unloading the teams of Mr. Sampson. The In-
 
 52 
 
 dians were perfectly quiet, and Apes having been bound over 
 for his appearance to take his trial, in the sum of $200, he 
 was immediately bailed by Mr. Ewer, a Justice of the Peace, 
 and was not committed to jail, as has been represented. 
 After his arrest, he expressed some contrition, and admitted 
 he had gone too far. The ultimate understanding appears to 
 be with the Indians, that they will offer no further resistance, 
 but wait patiently for a redress of grievances, until the meet- 
 ing of the Legislature, when they confidently expect to have 
 their guardianship removed. As an evidence of their peacea- 
 ble disposition, "President" Amos, at the request of Mr. 
 Fiske, gave up the key of the Meeting-house, for Rev Mr. 
 Fish to occupy the pulpit, and asked as a favor, that the In- 
 dians might occupy it half the time. The result of the mis- 
 sion of i\Ir. Fiske, is therefore very favorable, and if a similar 
 course is pursued hereafter, there will be no further difficulty 
 with the tribe. They should be treated with all possible 
 lenity and kindness, for the honor of the Commonwealth. 
 
 The Indians would not consent to see Mr. Fiske 
 at first, because they did not like to meet their ene- 
 mies off their own ground, and I presume they would 
 not have consented to do so to this day. As to the 
 Counsellor's meeting us alone, it was the especial di- 
 rection of the Governor that he should hear the par- 
 ties separately, because, supposing the government to 
 be oppressive, it seemed to him that the Indians would 
 be afraid to speak plainly in presence of their masters, 
 or proffer their complaints. The Indians wished to do 
 nothing in a corner ; but rather to proceed with an 
 open and manly spirit, that should show that they were 
 unjustly accounted abject and willing slaves. As to my 
 opinion of the powers of the Governor, 1 have already 
 admitted that I was in error ; for I am not a man skill- 
 ed in legal subtilitles. My reason for pressing our
 
 53 
 
 claims so strongly was, to make the way easy for my 
 brethren, till something could be done for them. The 
 Indians were requested to give up th.eir own Meeting- 
 house to a gentleman who did not come at their re- 
 quest, and to gather other people into it to suit his con- 
 venience. The Indians asked for their own house for 
 only half the time, and even this was denied them. 
 The law not bearing out their petition, they could 
 only obtain it by force, and, finding this to be the case, 
 they forbore. 
 
 The question is, how can a man do good among a 
 people who do not respect him or desire his presence, 
 and who refuse to hear him preach ? Yet Harvard 
 College has forced such an one on the Marshpees 
 against their will, right or wrong. 
 
 I heard a white lady observe, that Mr. Fish was not 
 a preacher for every one; as though he was not fit to 
 preach to any but us poor ignorant Indians. Never- 
 theless, if any people need a talented, enterprising 
 preacher, we are the very ones. Some may suppose 
 Mr. Fish to be a Unitarian. He was, when he was 
 first settled at Marshpee ; but his opinions underwent a 
 change soon after, and he became what is commonly 
 called an orthordox Congregationalist. In order to be 
 a good one, he ought to make one more change — a 
 change of inclination, to force himself on poor Indians. 
 One who has such an inclination cannot be a good 
 member of any sect, or an honor to it. Such a per- 
 son can be no ornament to any ecclesiastical body. I 
 would not have it inferred from this that a breath of 
 reproach is in my mind, or in those of my brethren 
 5*
 
 54 
 
 against any denomination of Christians. We love all 
 who love the Lord Jesus in sincerity. 
 
 1 expressed no conlrilion because I thought I had 
 acted morally wrong, or had asked any thing more than 
 was right ; but because I had mistaken the /aw, which 
 in this case was a very different thing from justice. 
 
 The next article is from the Barnstable Journal, of 
 July 25. It will serve to show that though the matter 
 had been perfectly explained to the inhabitants of 
 Barnstable County ; yet it contained some of our 
 worst enemies as well as best friends. Our enemies 
 were those in office, and those under their inliuence. 
 The majority believed the Indians to be wronged, and 
 ought to have had redress ; and these were unable to 
 act in our behalf. Those who did act were either our 
 enemies or persons who had no minds of their own, 
 and were led by them in all they did. Many of them 
 did, nevertheless, sym.pathize with the Indians, and 
 pitied them wlien cast into prison, for all m.en can ap- 
 preciate the blessing of liberty. 
 
 MARSMPEE INDIANS. 
 Messrs. Editors, 
 
 We observed iu one of your late papers, some 
 editorial remarks which breathed a spirit of candor and good 
 will towards iis, and not of ridicule and sarcasm, like that of 
 your neighbor, the Patriot. Now Messrs. Editors, as our sit- 
 uation is but little understood, and the minds of the people 
 much agitated, we feel a desire to lay before them some of 
 the causes of the late excitement We have long been 
 under guardians, placed in authority over us, without our hav- 
 ing any voice in the selection, and, as we believe, not consti- 
 tutional. Will the good people of Massachusetts revert back 
 to the days of their fathers, when they were under the galling
 
 55 
 
 yoke of the mother country ? when they petitioned the gov • 
 ernment for a redress of grievances, but in vain ? At length 
 they -were determined to try some other method ; and when 
 some English ships came to Boston, laden with tea, they mus- 
 tered their forces, unloaded and threw it into the dock, and 
 thereby laid the foundation of their future independence, 
 although it was in a terrible Avar, that your fathers sealed 
 with their blood a covenant made with liberty. And now we 
 ask the good people of Massachusetts, the boasted cradle of 
 mdependence, whom we have petitioned for a redress of 
 wrongs, more grievous than what your fathers had to bear, 
 and our petitioning was as fruitless as theirs, and there was 
 no other alternative but like theirs, to take our stand, and as 
 we have on our plantation but one harbor, and no English 
 ships of tea, for a substitute, we unloaded two wagons loaded 
 with our wood, without a wish to injure the owners of the 
 wagonB. And now, good people of Massachusetts, when your 
 fathers dared to unfurl the banners of freedom amidst the hos- 
 tile fleets and armies of Great Britain, it was then that Marsh- 
 pee furnished them with some of her bravest men to fight 
 your battles. Yes, by the side of your fathers they fought 
 and bled, and now their blood cries to you from the ground 
 to restore that liberty so unjustly taken from us by their sons. 
 
 MARSHPEE. 
 
 The next article is from the Boston Daily Advo- 
 cate. In the editorial remarks will be discerned the 
 noble spirit of independence and love of right which 
 are prominent characteristics of Mr. Hallett's charac- 
 ter, and which induced him, throughout the controversy, 
 to lend the aid of bis columns to the poor and oppress- 
 ed descendants of the people who welcomed his fore- 
 fathers to their shores. He is not ungrateful for the 
 kindness showed them in a time so remote. I think it 
 my duty to say of him, that be has been fruitful of 
 good works in behalf of all the oppressed. We In-
 
 56 
 
 dians have tried his integrity and have found it sound 
 metal. He gave us the aid of his extensive learning 
 iind undeniable talent, and carried our cause be- 
 fore the Legislature with no other end in view than 
 the good of the Commonwealth and of the Marshpee 
 tribe, and a strong desire to wipe from the character 
 of his native State the foul blot of our continued 
 wrongs. He never asked where his pay was to come 
 from ; but exposed the iniquities which had been trans- 
 acted in the affairs of the Marshpee people, without 
 hesitation, fear or favor, a course he has steadily pur- 
 sued to this day. We acknowledge his doings as 
 acts of pure benevolence toward us, and we say that 
 the sons of the pilgrim fathers may well be proud of 
 such a brother. Had others been only a little like 
 him, -^ve should have had no reason to complain; and 
 ■we recommend him as an example, to all w^ho may 
 hereafter have dealings with Indians. Let them do as 
 he has done, and ihey will be honored as he is. To 
 be sure, it is no great matter to be loved and honored 
 by poor Indians ; but the good will of even a dog is 
 better than his ill will. The rich man fared sumpfu- 
 ously every day, while the poor one was lying at his 
 gate, feeding on the crumbs that fell from his table, 
 and the dogs only had compassion on him. They 
 both died ; and w^e read that God sent a convoy of 
 angels to bring the poor man safe home. The rich 
 man doubtless had a splendid funeral ; but we do not 
 hear that he had any favor from his Maker. O, ye 
 who despise Indians, merely because they are poor, 
 ignorant, and copper-colored ; do you not think that 
 God will have respect unto them ?
 
 57 
 
 THE MARSHPEE INDIANS. 
 
 We have received a genuine communication from one of 
 the Marshpee Indians, and as we verily believe that trjbe is 
 in many respects wronged by the whites, and neglected by 
 their legal guardians, the Legislature, we are desirous of giv- 
 ing them a hearing, that justice may be done them, if it be a 
 possible matter to get such a thing as justice and good faith 
 from white men tov/ard Indians. Undoubtedly some of their 
 supposed grievances are imaginary and much exaggerated, 
 but others are real, and tend greatly to depress them. We 
 have had an overflow of sensibility in this quarter toward the 
 Cherokees, and there is now an opportunity of showing to the 
 world whether the people of Massachusetts can exercise 
 more justice and less cupidity toward their own Indians than 
 the Georgians have toward the Cherokees. V»'e earnestly ex- 
 hort the Marshpeeians to abstain from all acts of violence, 
 and to rely with full confidence upon the next Legislature for 
 redress. That body has heretofore treated their claims too 
 lightly, but there is a growing disposition to hear and relieve 
 their grievances. A memorial from the tribe, setting forth 
 the wrongs of which they complain, would unquestionably 
 receive prompt attention. The laws by Avhich they are ex- 
 posed to the cupidity of their white neighbors, are extremely 
 defective, and require a thorough reform. Our correspondent, 
 who we believe speaks the sentiments of the tribe, shall be 
 heard for himself, and we hold our columns free to publish 
 any facta, on either side of this question, which may be offer- 
 ed to the public. 
 
 "Marshpee, Aug. 5, 1833. 
 Mr. Hallett, 
 
 Dear Sir — With regret I say that your white 
 
 brethren still think it a privilege to impose upon us here. The 
 men upon our plantation were gathering their hay harvest, 
 and the poor women whose husbands were at sea, who had 
 let out their land, confidently expected to have their share, 
 but it was taken from them by unjust men, and not so much 
 as a spear^of it left to sustain them, or even the promise of 
 help or aid in any way ; it was not taken for debt and no ohq
 
 58 
 
 knows for what. The overseers liave now become displeas- 
 ed, and choose at this time to use their great power. I hope 
 we shall not have to call upon the State to protect us, but if 
 we are imposed upon in this manner, we believe we shall. 
 And while we are willing to be still and peaceable, we think 
 that those of our white friends, with the light they possess, 
 ought to show as much of the spirit of kindaess as poor igno- 
 rant Indians. The Legislature has bound the poor Indians 
 as they have. The Indians would propose one thing. We 
 have some white men her:e who will smuggle rum, and sell it 
 to the Indians, and as they have no license, they ought to be 
 stopped. We are happy to say that many of our Indians are 
 temperate, but we wish them all to be, and we want some 
 way to have a stop put to these things, for these white men 
 are ten times worse than any of the Indians. I might name 
 a Fuller, a Chadwick, and a Richardson ; we really wish that 
 the honorable Legislature would place guardians over them, 
 to keep them from wasting our property in this way. While 
 I was absent, there was a man that sued me for trespass, and 
 tried the case without my information. What kind of law is 
 this ? I had the liberty of baiting my horse in a field. A 
 man had rye in a field he did not hire, but took it upon shares. 
 My horse got in his rye, but six cents would pay all the dam- 
 age. But the action is not damage, but trespass, and that 
 done unknown to me. 
 
 It is impossible to give you the details of wrongs imposed 
 upon the Indians. We are to be accused by our enemies, 
 tried by them, and condemned by them. We can get redress 
 no where, unless we trouble the government all the while, 
 and that we are delicate to do. 
 
 - Now we believe that some of these things published abroad 
 would do good, and we should have more peace. 
 
 Yours, most obediently." 
 
 We have received another communication from Marshpee, 
 upon the same subject. 
 
 "Having seen several articles in your paper, relating to the 
 Marshpee tribe, we perceive that your paper is free, not muz- 
 zled. Marshpee Indians ^eak for themselves. It is not to
 
 59 
 
 be doubted but that the public would like to hear the Indians 
 speak for themselves. It has been represented that the In- 
 dians were troublesome, and war-like nfovements were among 
 us. If to make an inquiry into our rights by us, is war-like, 
 so it is. Otherwise than this we know nothing about it, and 
 we know of none that has a disposition to shed blood. It is 
 true that the day the Hon. J. J. Fiske, of the Governor's 
 Council, was present with us, in a council at the meeting- 
 house, the Indians, three in number, were out in the morning, 
 hunting deer, and when they came to the meeting-house, they 
 had their business to attend to, and could not conveniently go 
 four or five miles to put up their muskets, neither did we see 
 the propriety of their so doing. We believe that a just man 
 would not have trembled at an old rusty musket. 
 
 We are hard to believe, that any people, served as we have 
 been here, would more kindly submit to it, than we have. 
 We think now we have submitted long enough, and we 
 thought it no crime to look, or ask after our rights. But we 
 found our white neighbors had thrown their chains of interest 
 around our principal stock, so much so that we began to think 
 they soon would drag both interest and principal all away. 
 And no wonder they began to cry out, when they saw that 
 the Indians' were likely to unhook their chains, and break 
 their hold. We believe white men had more war in their 
 hearts than any of the Indians. 
 
 We are willing to hint a few things. We thought white 
 men would do well, that they were trusty. We doubt not 
 but what they be among themselves ; but we scarcely believe 
 that they care much for the poor Indians, any further than 
 what they can get out of them. It is true we have land in 
 Marshpee. We can stay upon it ; but we have had to pay 
 one dollar per cord, to the overseers, for our own wood, and 
 take it or earry it just where these men said. Our meadowg 
 were taken from us and rented out to white people, our pas- 
 tures also. About twelve hundred cords of our wood has 
 been cut the last year, and we judge the minister has cut one 
 hundred and fifty cords for his share. And in a word, they 
 did as they pleased. The poor could get a pound of meat,
 
 60 
 
 or a half peck of corn, and one quart of molasses for two 
 weeks. Much might be said, but^we forbear. It is true that 
 we have had a preacher, but we do not believe that he cares 
 any thing about us. Neither had we any hand in his settle- 
 ment over us. To be sure, he likes to stay with us, but we 
 think it is because he gets so much good pay. But five or 
 six adult persons attend his preaching, there being not otu 
 Indian male belonging to- his church. This gentleman has 
 cut much wood, to the dissatisfaction of the Indians ; and it is 
 true they have passed resolutions that they will not hear him 
 preach. Yet he wants to stay with us. 
 
 Interest men tremble and threaten, but we fear not, and 
 sincerely hope they will soon tremble before God, and pre- 
 pare to meet their Judge, who will do right, and who will 
 have no regard for skins or color. 
 
 THINK OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 We turn from this judicious and liberal article^ to 
 one that is less favorable. It is from the Barnstable 
 Journal, of August 22, 1833. 
 
 THE INDIANS. 
 
 We learn from South Sandwich that the Indians, consti- 
 tuting the Marshpee tribe, intend to petition at the sitting of 
 the next Legislature, for a redress of grievances, and a re- 
 vision of the code of laws by which they are governed. The 
 recent revolt among them, and the measures adopted to make 
 known their situation and treatment, by. fhemselves, and by 
 those who have avowed their friendship toward them, (its 
 validity time will determine,) gave rise to considerable ex- 
 citement. An inquiry into the state of affairs was instituted, 
 which terminated, as far as we have been able to learn, to 
 the satisfaction of those employed in the investigation, that 
 some of the evils under which they are labouring are real, and 
 rendered so by the laws of the Commonwealth, but many 
 )maginary. We do not doubt that the state of society among 
 them is low and degraded, comparatively speaking, but what
 
 61 
 
 contributes to keep them in this situation we are unable to 
 B.iy, unless it be, that the plantation has been a resort of the 
 vagrant, the indolent, and those whom refined society would 
 not allow among them. If this is the case, and we believe 
 it has been, something should be done, either among- the In- 
 dians, or by the Legislature, to remedy the evil. We have 
 understood also, that certain individuals, located contiguous 
 to the plantation, retail ardent spirits to them in quantities aa 
 large as they are able to pay for. If this be the fact, such 
 men should be ferreted out, and in justice to the Indians, to 
 tlie community about them, and to the laws of the land, they 
 should be made to suiier, by being exhibited to public de- 
 rision, and by the penalty of the act prohibiting the retail of 
 spirits. If they have not the power, and no one feels willing 
 to go forward in shutting up these poisonous springs, give 
 them the power, and if they do not exercise it, let them 
 *juffer. 
 
 Mr, Apes is among them, and attended the '-Four Days 
 Meeting," held during the present month, which we are told 
 was managed with good order and regularity. 
 
 The writer here says ihat the Indians a.e vile and 
 degraded ; and iidmits ihat they can be improved. 
 lie gives no explanation of tlie causes of their degra- 
 dation. If the reader will take the trouble to examine 
 lije laws regarding the Marshpees, he wlil see those 
 causes of the inevitable and melancholy effect, and, I 
 am sure, will come to tiie conclusion that any people 
 living under them must necessarily be degraded. The 
 Journal, however, does us the small justice to admit, 
 that we are not so degraded but that we can hold a 
 meeting of four days duration, with propriety and 
 moderation. What, then, might we not do, were 
 proper pains taken to educate us. 
 6
 
 62 
 
 The next two extracts are from the Boston Advo- 
 cate of September 10 and 11, 1833. 
 
 THE MARSHPEE INDIANS. 
 
 We are mortified for the honor of the State, to learn from 
 Barnstable County, that the Court of Common Pleas and 
 Sessions there, (Judge Cummins,) have tried and convicted 
 William Apes and six Indians of the Marshpee tribe, upon 
 charges connected with the efforts of the Indians to obtain 
 justice from their white masters. Apes is very popular with 
 the Indians, and this persecution of him, which at least was 
 unnecessary, will inflame them the more. 
 
 The papers say the conviction was for riot. This cannot 
 be, for there was no riot, and no riot act read. Apes and his 
 associates prevented a man from carrying wood off the plan- 
 tation. They were, perhaps, wrong in doing so, but the law 
 which takes this wood from the Indian proprietors, is as un- 
 just and unconstitutional as the Georgia laws, that take the gold 
 mines from the Cherokees. Could the question of property 
 have been tried, the act of stopping their own wood, by the 
 Indians, cduld not have been made even trespass, much less 
 riot. It is said that Apes and the rest were indicted under 
 eome obsolete law, making it a misdemeanor to conspire 
 kgainst the laws. We have looked for such an act, but can- 
 not find it in the Statute Book. 
 
 At any rate, law or no law, the Indians were indicted and 
 convicted. They were tried by their opponents, and it would 
 be impossible to get justice done them in Barnstable County. 
 An impartial jnry could not be found there. It is the interest 
 of too many to keep the Indians degraded. We think the 
 conviction of these Indians is an act of cruelty and oppres- 
 sion, disgraceful to the Commonwealth. The Marsh pee In- 
 dians are wronged and' oppressed by our laws, nearly as much 
 as ever the Cherokees were by the Georgians. But it is use- 
 less to call for the exercise of philanthropy at hone. It is all 
 expended abroad.
 
 63 
 
 An attempt was made to indict some of the white harpies, 
 who are selling rum to the Indians, without license. Those 
 men got clear, and are still suffered to prey on the poor In- 
 dians ; but to stop a load of wood, which in reality belonged 
 to the Indians themselves, was an outrage which the Court 
 were ready enough to punish ! Is it creditable to let the 
 white spiders break through the laws, while we catch and 
 crush the poor Indian flies ? 
 
 THE INDIANS. 
 
 William Apes and the Marshpee Indians, who were tried 
 before the Court of Common Pleas, in Barnstable County, 
 were ably defended by Mr. Sumner, of this city. Apes was 
 sentenced by Judge Cummings, to thirty days imprisonment 
 in the common jail. One other was sentenced to ten day^ 
 imprisonment, and the rest were net tried. When the sen- 
 tence was pronounced, several Indians who were present, 
 gave indications of strong excitement at what they conceire 
 to be a tyrannical persecution. It is much to be feared, that 
 this unnecessary and apparently vindictive course, pursued 
 by the overseers and their friends, after the Indians had 
 become, quiet, and resolved to wait patiently for redress from 
 the Legislature, will inflame them to acts of violence, and 
 give the whites, who wish to oppress them, further advanta- 
 ges over them. 
 
 We have visited the greater part of the tribe recently, in 
 their own dwellings, and we know how strongly and unani- 
 mously they feel upon the subject of what they really believe 
 to be, their slavery to the overseers. If, therefore, the course 
 we have pursued, and mean to pursue, in laying their claims 
 to justice before the public, entitles us to be listened to as a 
 friend, we beg them to abstain from all acts which violate 
 even the unjust and hard laws by which they are now held 
 in bondage. Resistance will furnish their enemies with the 
 strongest weapons against them, and discourage their friends. 
 Let them endure patiently, till the next Legislature meets, 
 and if there is any virtue or honesty in our public men, the 
 rights of the Marshpee Indians will be secured.
 
 04 
 
 In our last article we said that it was impossible for the 
 Indiana to have an impartial jury in Barnsthble. We did not 
 mean that this arose from all tlie whites being opposed to the 
 Indians. They have many friends in Barnstable County, who 
 think them deeply injured, and who have no interest in keep- 
 ing them degraded, in order to enjoy the privileges which 
 too many whites now have, at the expense of the tribe. We 
 alluded to the influences that would be used upon the jury, as 
 in the case of Apes, where we learn, that three individuals, 
 favorable to the Indians, but having formed no opinion in that 
 case, were excluded from the regular jury. One of them 
 wss set aside, for saying he thought the Indians ought to 
 be free. We are still at a loss to know under what law 
 these Indians were found guilty of riot, in preventing their 
 own wood from being carried off their own land. Where 
 are all our Cherokee philanthropists, at' this time ? 
 
 The inju3ti(.'e of the proceedings of the Biirnstablo 
 Court of Common Pleas and Sessions, is here fitly- 
 exposed. In empanelling the jury, it is certain that 
 no name of one favorably inclined toward the Indians 
 was selected, and there are many who do not scruple 
 to say, that it was the determination of the Court to 
 condemn them, right or wrong. Nevertheless, it ap- 
 peared from the evidence brought, that no fear or alarm 
 whatever had been occasioned to the complainants; 
 and that all they had to complain of was having been 
 hindered from taking away the Marshpees' wood. 
 
 It may not be amiss to say here, that when the hon- 
 orable Judge Srild he thought if uould be well to post- 
 pone the case till the next session, the District Attor- 
 ney, Mr. Warren, replied that i)e did not think it 
 would bo proper, because such a course would involve 
 the Commonwealth in extra expense. I should like 
 to ask u'hat tliunks are due to the learned genilemaa
 
 65 
 
 from the Commonwealth, for subjecting it to continued 
 reproach and disgrace for the sake of a few dollars. 
 Or, can it be that there is no disgrace in persisting in 
 wrong toward Indians ? Let those who think so, think 
 so still ; but there are many who think otherwise, and 
 there is one above who knows that they think rightly. 
 
 When the witnesses and the pleadings had been 
 heard, the jury retired, for the sake of decency, and 
 presently returned with a verdict of guilty, 1 thought 
 that his Honor appeared to be pleased with it. The 
 judgment was suspended about two hours, when the 
 Court again sat, and the mailer was called up. There 
 was not a little said concerning the case. Messrs. 
 Reed, Sumner, Holmes and Nye, of Yarmouth, Bos- 
 ton, Rochester, and Sandwich, all professional men, 
 were opposed to the course pursued by the Court, and 
 thought that an exposition of the law to us and repri- 
 mand would be productive of a betteff effect, than im- 
 prisonment, or other severe punishment^ which they 
 jusdy believed would do no good whatever. Their 
 judgment has since been confirmed by public opinion, 
 and by the acts of the Legislature. 
 
 Since this affair took place, I have been kindly in- 
 formed by a gentleman of Barnstable, that my punish- 
 ment was not half severe enough. I replied that, in 
 my mind, it was no punishment at all ; and I am ye: 
 to learn what punishment can dismay a man conscious 
 of his own innocence. Lightning, tempest and battle, 
 wreck, pain, buffeting and torture jjave small terror to 
 ji- pure conscience. The body they may afflict, but 
 the mind is beyond their power, 
 6*
 
 06 
 
 The gentleman above mentioned, and one other, 
 have freqiienlly said lo tlie Marshpees, " If you will 
 only get rid of Apes, and drive him off the plantation, 
 we will be your friends. This has been their contin- 
 «ed cry since 1 began to use my poor endeavors to 
 get the Indians righted ; and if it is not now univer- 
 sally believed that it is impossible to benefit and be- 
 friend the Indians while I am among them, it is not 
 because they have spared any p:iins to propagate the 
 doctrine. One would think, to hear these gendemen 
 talk, that they have a strong desire to benefit the 
 Marshpees ; and the question naturally arises, what 
 steps they would take to this end, if they had the 
 j?ower. If we are to judge of the future by expe- 
 rience of the past, we niiiy reasonably suppose 
 that they would profit the tribe, by getting posses- 
 sion of their property, and making their own advan- 
 tage of it. 
 
 The Taunton Gazette found fault with the govern- 
 n.ent of the Commonwealth, for having placed the 
 I^Iarshpees under its laws contrary to their wish and 
 consent, and denies its right so to do. Tiiis may be 
 considered as in some des^ree indicative of the feelins; 
 of the rp ) i people of Taunton ; and there are many 
 other towns in Massachusetts wliere a kindly feeliiig is 
 enterfained f>r our persecuted race. We believe the 
 wish to relieve us from bondage is general throughout 
 ihe State, ai.d we earnestly hope that a few designing 
 men will not be able to accomplish their selfish ends, 
 tfontrary to t'ne uili of a majority of the people. 
 
 The next article is from the Boston Advocate, of 
 December 4, 1833.
 
 67 
 
 TEMPERANCE AMONG THE INDIANS AT MAKSHPEEL 
 The Indians met upon the 11th of October to take into 
 consideration the cause of temperance, and to investigate 
 the evils that King- Alcohol has practised upon us, by infusing 
 into our heads fancied riches, fame, honor, and grandeur, 
 making us the sovereigns of the whole earth. But having 
 been so often deceived, beat, abused and tyranized over, and 
 withal cheated, and robbed, and defrauded by this tyrant, and 
 to cap the climax, almost deprived of our senses, burnt and 
 nearly frozen to death, and all our expectations cut off as to 
 the comforts of life, it was agreed upon, (after an appropriate 
 address from the Rev. William Apes, setting forth the evils 
 of intemperance and its awful effects in wasting away our 
 race, like the early dew, before the morning sun,) by our most 
 influential people to attack this mighty champion, and if po&- 
 sible, overcome him, and shut him up in prison, and set a seal 
 upon him, that he shall deceive our nation no more. Accord- 
 ingly a Temperance Society was formed, and the following 
 officers were elected : Rev. William Apes, President ; Rev. 
 Joseph Amos, Vice President ; Dea. I. Coombs, and Thomas 
 Hush, Recording Secretaries ; Dea. C. Hinson, Correspond- 
 ing Secretary ; Executive Committee, Oakes Coombs, Joseph 
 Tobey, Frank Hicks. Forty-two of the tribe united in the 
 pledge of Temperance. 
 
 Nov. 14. We met again, and the President again address- 
 ed the meeting, much to the satisfaction of the people. After 
 which many others gave spirited addresses, setting forth th« 
 evils of intemperance, in a most pathetic manner. It has 
 caused a wonderful effect, and our brethren are enlisting to 
 take hold and shut up our great enemy in prison, and choks 
 him to death by total abstinence. Friends of Temperance 
 help. 
 
 The Society passed the following resolutions : 
 Resolved, That we will not countenance the use of ardent 
 spirits among us, in any way whatever ; and that we will do 
 all in our power to suppress it.^ That we will not buy it our- 
 selves, nor suffer it to be in our houses, unless ordered by a 
 physician.
 
 6S 
 
 Resolved^ That this Society shall meet monthly, to regulate 
 itself, and if any one is found to break their pledge, the same 
 shall be excluded, without speedy repentance. 
 
 f^'oted, That the above be printed. Sixty-one i@ found 
 wpon our list. 
 
 CHRISTOPHER HINSON, Cor. Sec'y. 
 
 MarshpeCy J^Tov. 15, 
 
 It appears from this that Indians can be temperate, 
 and have a disposition and desire to benefit themselves. 
 It shows, too, that they are capable of organizing 
 societies, and taking care of their own concerns, as 
 well, to say the least, as any equal number of persons in 
 the Commonwealth j for they certainly feel more 
 strongly interested for themselves than others can be 
 for them. 
 
 It will be seen that little was done concerning our 
 tribe, from the session of the Court at Barnstable up to 
 the meeting of the Legislature, though the opposition 
 to us had wealth, talent and power in its ranks. Cler- 
 gymen, lawyers, physicians, counsellors, Governor, 
 ranators, and re[)resentatives were arrayed against us ; 
 and we Marshpees account all who opposed our free- 
 dom, as tories, hostile to the constitution, and the lib- 
 erties of the country. This is oup sincere opinion of 
 them, and it is to us a thing inexplicable that his Excel- 
 lency, the then Governor, should have seen fit to place 
 himself at their head.* We desire to thank our Maker 
 that they found themselves in the minority of the peo- 
 ple, and fell in the esteem of Christian and benevolent 
 
 •His Excellency LeVi Lincoln, who proposed to raise a 
 regiment to exterminate oar tribe, if we did not submit to 
 ihe Overseers.
 
 69 
 
 persons who lieard of their conduct. VV'e thank the 
 majority of the controllers of piiblic affairs, that they 
 had more sense tlian to think of holding the rightful 
 lords of the soil in bondage any longer, Hir the gratifi- 
 cation of selfish and unjust men. Honorable is it to 
 ?»la*sachuseits that there are enough good and upright 
 men in autliority, to counteract the measures of those 
 Ctt a diiierenl character, and remedy the evils they 
 may occasi<)n. 
 
 I shall now proceed to present to my brethren, an 
 Indian's appeal to them, and the laws framed by the 
 I^esislalure for the oppression and moral and political 
 destruciion of the Marshpees in by-gone days. ]My 
 comnients tliereupon will be omitted, because, sliould 
 I say all the subject suggests, it would swell my book 
 to a bulk that would be wearisome to the reader. 
 
 AN INDIAN'S APPEAL TO THE WHITE MEN OF 
 MASSACHUSETTS. 
 As our brethren, the white men of Massachusetts, have re- 
 cently manifested much sympathy for the red men of the 
 Cherokee nation, who have suffered much from their white 
 brethren ; as it is contended in this State, that our red breth- 
 ren, the Cherokees, should be an independent people, having 
 the privileg-es of the white men ; we, the red men of the 
 Marshpee tribe, consider it a favorable time to speak. We 
 are not free. We wish to be so, as much as the red men of 
 Georgia. How will the white man of Massachusetts ask 
 favor for the red men of the South, while the poor Marsiipee 
 red men, his near neighbors, sigh in bondage ? Will not your 
 white brothers of Georgia tell you to look at home, and clear 
 your own borders of oppression, before you trouble thera ? 
 Will you think of this ? What would be benevolence in 
 Georgia, the red man thinks would be so in Massachusetts. 
 You plead for the Cherokees, will you not r^ise your voi<;«
 
 70 
 
 for the red man of Marshpee ? Our overseers are not kind ; 
 they speak, you hear them. When we speak for ourselves, 
 our voice is so feeble it is not heard. 
 
 You think the men you give us do ua good, and that all ia 
 right Brothers, you are deceived ; they do us no good." We 
 do them good. They like the place where you have put them. 
 Brothers, our fathers of this State meet soon to make laws ; will 
 you help us to enable them to hear the voice of the red man ? 
 
 Marshpee, Dec. 19, 1833. 
 
 This appeal was published in several of the public 
 prints, in order to make our dissatisfaction nrianifest. 
 
 The next extract is from the Boston Advocate, and 
 shows what opposition was made to the reading of our 
 petition in the House of Representatives. The arti- 
 ticle says all that can be said for itself.* 
 
 PETITION OF THE MARSHPEE TRIBE OF 
 INDIANS. 
 
 Yesterday morning, in the House, Mr. Gushing of Dorches* 
 ter, presented the petition of the Proprietors and inhabitantf 
 of the Marshpee Plantation, signed by 79 males and 92 fe- 
 males on the plantation, and in behalf of 79 males and 37 
 females, who are absent from the plantation, and say they 
 will not return to live under the present laws, in all 287 : 
 praying for the privilege to manage their own property ; for 
 the abolition of the overseership, that they may be incorpor- 
 ated as the town of Marshpee, with the right to make muni- 
 cipal regulations ; that one or more Magistrates may be ap- 
 pointed among them ; and for a repeal of the existing lawi 
 relating to their tribe, with the exception of the law prevent- 
 ing their selling their lands, Avhich they pray may bo retain- 
 ed ; aqd for a redress of grievances. 
 
 •Tho Counsel for the Indians, B. F. Hallett, Esq. could not find 
 a meraber of the House from Bar istable County, who would present 
 the petition. The Indians will not forget that they owed this net of 
 justice to Mr. Cushikg of Dorchester.
 
 71 
 
 [The Memorial sets forth in detail, the complaints of the 
 tribe, and was drawn up among" themselves, without assist- 
 ance. It is represented here by Deacon- Coombs, Daniel 
 Amos, and William Apes, all of them well informed Indians, 
 who are deputed by the tribe, and were present in the Hous e 
 yesterday.] 
 
 Mr. Gushing moved that the petition be read and referred 
 to a special Committee, to be joined by the Senate. 
 
 Mr. Swifl of Nantucket, said there was a statement to b« 
 made from the Governor and Council, on the subject of the 
 diificulties with the Indians, and he hoped the petition would 
 be laid on the table without being read. 
 
 Mr. Allen of Pembroke, hoped the motion to read the peti- 
 tion would not prevail. We should have in a few days a 
 statement from the Governor and Council, and he hoped noth- 
 ing would be done until that was received, to prejudice the 
 House. 
 
 Mr. Gushing of Dorchester,* was not aware that any objec- 
 tions could be made to the reading of the petition, which he 
 considered as a matter of course ; nor could he see how a 
 knowledge of the matter could prejudice the House. He 
 presumed the House would not take upon itself to refuse to 
 hear the petition of tho humblest individual, and he did not 
 fear that they could not control their minds so far as to be 
 ready to give a fair hearing to the other side. The intima- 
 tion that some document was to come from another source, 
 did not go at ail to show that the petition ought not to be 
 read. Whether the statement which gentlemen said was to 
 be made, was in aid or explanation of the petition did not ap- 
 pear, but the subject was before the House, and ought to re- 
 ceive the attention due to it. 
 
 Mr. Lucas of Plymouth, said (as far as we could hear him) 
 that the difficulty in the Marshpee tribe had been caused by 
 an itinerant preacher, who went there and urged them to de- 
 clare their independence. They proceeded to extremities, 
 and the Governor and Council sent ^ commissioner to examine 
 the affair, and he made a report to the Council, and until that 
 M'os heard, he hoped nothing would bo heard from the Indiana.
 
 7^ 
 
 It ought first to come before the House. The petition orig- 
 inated DO doubt, from the itinerant preacher, who had been 
 pouring into their ears discontent until they had a riot, and 
 the rioters were prosecuted with the preacher among them, 
 and he was convicted and imprisoned. Whether any of the 
 petitioners were among tiiose rioters or not, he did not know. 
 
 Mr. Allen of Pembroke, said he had not heard the gentle- 
 man from Plymouth. It was not his wish to prevent the pe- 
 titioners being heard at a proper time, but he thought the Houso 
 ought to hear the other side, before any course was taken. 
 
 Mr. Robinson of Marblehead, hoped that the attempt woulti 
 not be persisted in, to withhold from these Indians tiie coai- 
 mon indulgence of having their petition read. 
 
 Mr. Loring of Hingham, understood that thi ^ was the same 
 petition which went before the Governor and Council, [Mr. L. 
 waa misinformed ; It is a different petition,] and as it waa 
 very long, it would .take up time unnecessarily to read it. 
 He hoped it would be laid on the table. 
 
 Mr. Allen of Worcester, thought those who opposed the 
 reading were in fact increasing the importance of the peti- 
 tion by that course. If the House should refuse to hear it 
 read, a course he did not remember had ever been adopted 
 toward any respectful petition, from any quarter, it would be- 
 come a subject of much more speculation than if it took tlio 
 ordinary course. 
 
 Mr.H. Lincoln of Boston, was surprised to hear an objection 
 raised to the reading of this petition. It was due to the 
 chRracter of the House, and to our native brethren the peti- 
 tionera. whose agents were here on the floor, that they should 
 he heard, and heard patiently. He hoped that out of respect 
 to ourselves, and from, justice to the petitioners, their petition 
 would tind every favor, which in justice ought to be extend- 
 ed to it. 
 
 Mr. Swift of Nantucket, again urged that the petition ought 
 not to be read, until the report from the Governor and Coun- 
 cil waa first heard. 
 
 Mr. Chapman. — The petitioners have a constitutional right 
 %o be heard, I know not of what value that provision is wliich
 
 73 
 
 gives a right to petition, if the House can refuse to hear the 
 petition. They do not ask for action, but to be heard. It can* 
 be read and laid on the table. So long as I hold a seal in this 
 House, my hand shall be raised to give a hearing to the humblest 
 individual v/ho presents a petition for redress of grievances. 
 
 Mr. Loring of Hingham hoped the idea could not be en- 
 tertained that th.ey wished to tlirovr this subject out of the 
 House. He wanted the whole subject should be brought up, 
 and not that this petition should go in first. It was not his 
 wish to prevent the petitioners being heard. 
 
 The Speaker put the question, shall the petition be read r 
 and it was carried in the affirmative, nearly every hand in the 
 House being raised. In the negative we saw but five hands. 
 The petition v/as then read by the Speaker. 
 
 Mr. Roberts of Salem moved that it be laid on the table 
 and printed for the use of the House, as there must be a fu- 
 ture action of the House upon it. The motion was carried 
 without objection." 
 
 The attem.pt to prevent the petition of the ^.larshpee In- 
 dians from being read, was repelled in the House with an 
 unanimity which shows the value the Representatives place 
 upon the right of petitioning. The poor Indians are without 
 advice or counsel to aid them, for they have no means to fee 
 lawyers, but they will evidently find firm friends in the House 
 ready to do them justice. This is no party question. It in- 
 volves the honor of the State. Let all be done for them that 
 can be wisely done in a spirit of paternal kindness. Let it 
 not be shov/n that our sympathy for Indians extends only to 
 those at the South, but has no feeling for our own. 
 
 [From the same.'] 
 
 THE MARSHPEE INDIANS. 
 The laws which regulate this remnant of a once powerful 
 tribe of Indians, are not familiar to many, and it is one great 
 defect in the present system, that these laws are so difficult 
 of access, and so complex that the Indians neither know nor 
 •omprehend them ; and it cannot be expected that they should 
 7
 
 74 
 
 live contentedly under oppressive regulations which they do 
 not understand. Should any new laws be passed, they ought 
 to be as simple as possible, and be distributed for the use of 
 the Indians. 
 
 By the Act of 1788, Ch. 38, Vol. 1 of Laws, page 34Q, new- 
 provisions were made, the previous act of 1788, Ch. 2, being 
 found insufficient " to protect them and their property against 
 the arts and designs of those who may be disposed to 
 take advantage of their weakness." The wisdom of the 
 whites, at that time, invented the following provisions for 
 that purpose : 
 
 Section 1. A Board of five Overseers was established, 
 (afterwards reduced to three,) two to be inhabitants of Barn- 
 stable County, and three fi"om an adjoining Couiity. (Now 
 two are inhabitants of Barnstable and one of Plymouth 
 County.) These Overseers were vested with full power to 
 regulate the police of the plantation ; to establish rules for 
 managing the affairs, interests and concerns of the Indians 
 and inhabitants. They may improve and lease the lands of 
 the Indians, and their tenements; regulate their streams,, 
 ponds and fisheries ; mete out lots for their particular im- 
 provement ; control and regulate absolutely, their bargains, 
 contracts, wages, and other dealings, take care of their poor, 
 and bind out their children to suitable persons. 
 
 The Overseers are directed to hold stated meetings, elect 
 a moderator, secretary and treasurer, and may appoint and 
 removQ guardians over any of the Indians, to act under the 
 the Overseers, and to carry their regulations into effect, the 
 guardians to give bonds to the Overseers. 
 
 By section 2, the Overseers or the guardians they appoint 
 have power to demand and receive all property or wages 
 owing to said Proprietors or any of them, by any person, and 
 may sue in their own names for its recovery, or for any tres- 
 pass, fraud or injury done to their lands or them. Tiiey may 
 settle all accounts and controversies between the Indians or 
 any white person, for voyages or any services done by them, 
 and may bind the children of poor proprietors by indenture, 
 to suitable persons.
 
 75 
 
 Sect. 3. No lease, covenant, bond or bargain, or contract 
 in writing, is of any validity unless approved by the Over- 
 seer or guardian ; and no Indian proprietor can be sued for 
 any goods sold, services done, &c. or for money, unless the 
 account is first approved by the Overseers. 
 
 [This, it is said, enables the Overseers to sanction the ac- 
 counts of those who sell to the Indians upon the expectation 
 of obtaining the favor of the Overseers, and opens a door for 
 connivance.] 
 
 Sect. 4. The Overseers are to keep a fair account of all 
 monies, wages, &c. they receive, and all proceeds of the 
 plantation, and shall distribute to the proprietors their re- 
 spective shares and dues, after deducting reasonable expense 
 of conducting their business, paying their just debts, (of 
 which the Overseers are made the judges,) and providing for 
 the sick and indigent, from the common profits, and -reserving 
 such sums as can be spared conveniently, for the support of 
 religious instruction, and schooling children. The accounts 
 to be laid before the Governor annually. The Governor and 
 Council appoint the Overseers and displace them at pleasure. 
 
 Sect. 5. The Indian Proprietors are prohibited giving any 
 one liberty to cut wood, timber or hay, to milk pine trees 
 carry otf ariy ore or grain, or to plant or improve any land or 
 tenement, and no such liberty, unless approved by the Over- 
 seers, shall bar an action on the part of the Overseers to re- 
 cover. The lands shall not be taken in execution for debt, 
 and an Indian committed for debt may take the poor debtor's 
 oath, his being a propiietor to the contrary notwithstanding. 
 
 The last act relating to this tribe, was passed Feb. 18, 1819, 
 Chap. 105, 2d vol. of Laws, page 487. It provides that no 
 person thereafter shall be a proprietor of the Plantation, ex- 
 cept a child or lineal descendant of some proprietor, and in no 
 other way shall tbis right, as it is called, be acquired. Other 
 inhabitants are called members of the tribe. 
 
 The Overseers are to keep a record of names, or census, 
 of all who are proprietors, and all who are residents or mem- 
 bers of the tribe, a return of which is to be made to the Gov- 
 ernor the last of December.
 
 76 
 
 The Overseers, in addition to all former power, are invest- 
 ed with all the powers and duties of guardians of the Indians, 
 whenever such office of guardian shall be vacant. [A very 
 blind provision, by the way, which it may be as difficult for 
 white men as for Indians to understand.] 
 
 Any person selling ardent spirits to an Indian, without a 
 permit in writing from the Overseer, from some agent of 
 theirs, or from a respectable physician, may be fined not 
 more than fifty dollars, on conviction ; and it shall be the 
 duty of the Overseer to give information for prosecuting 
 such offenders. 
 
 The Overseers may bind out to service, for three years at 
 a time, any proprietor or member of the tribe, who in their 
 judgment has become an habitual drunkard and idler, and 
 they may apply his earnings to his own support, his family's, 
 or the proprietors generally, as they think proper. 
 
 All real estate acquired or purchased by the industry of 
 the proprietors and members, (meaning of course without 
 the limits of the plantation,)r shall be their sole property 
 and estate, and may be held or conveyed by deed, will, or 
 otherwise. 
 
 If any Indian or other person shall cut or take away any 
 wood, timber, or other property, on any lands htlonging to the 
 proprietors or members, which is not set off"; or if any person 
 not a proprietor or member, shall do the same on lands that 
 have been set off*, or commit any other trespass, they shall be 
 fined not over $200, or imprisoned not over two years. The 
 Indians are declared competent witnesses to prove the tres- 
 pass. No Indian or other person is to cut wood without a 
 permit in writing, signed by two Overseers, expressing the 
 quantity to be cut, at what time and for what purpose ; and the 
 permit must be recorded in their proceedings before any wood 
 or timber shall be cut. 
 
 [Of this provision, the Indians greatly complain, because 
 it gives them no more privilege in cutting their own wood 
 than a stranger has, and because under it, as they say, the 
 Overseers oblige them to pay a dollar or more a cord for all 
 the wood they are permitted to cut, which leaves them littlo
 
 7T 
 
 or no profit, and compels the industrious to labour merely for 
 the support of the idle, while the white men, who have their 
 teams, vessels, &c. can buy their permits and cut down the 
 wood of the plantation in great quantities, at much greater 
 profit than the Indian can do, who has nothing but his axe, 
 and must pay these white men a dollar or more for carting 
 his wood, and a dollar or more to the Overseers, thus leaving 
 hun not enough to encourage industry.] 
 
 AN accounts of the Overseers are to be annually examin- 
 ed by the Court of Common Pleas for Barnstable, and a copy 
 sent by the Overseers to the Governor. 
 
 Any action commenced by the Overseers, does not abate 
 by their death, but may be prosecuted by the survivors. 
 
 All fines, &c. uader the act, are to be recovered before 
 Courts in Barnstable County, one half to the informer, and 
 the other to the State. These are all the provisions of the 
 law of 1819, and these are the provisions under which the 
 tribe is governed. 
 
 As I suppose my reader can understand these laws, 
 and is capable of judging of their propriety, I shall say 
 but Hide on ibis subject, I will ask him how, if he 
 values his own liberty, he would or could rest quiet 
 under such laws. I ask the inhabitants of New Eng- 
 land generally, how their fathers bore law'S, much less 
 oppressive, when imposed upon them by a foreign 
 government. It will be at once seen that the third 
 section takes from us the rights and privileges of citi- 
 zens in toto, and that we are not allowed to govern 
 our own property, wives and children. A board of 
 orerseers are placed over us to keep our accounts, and 
 give debt and credit, as may seem good unto them. 
 
 At one time, it was the practice of the Overseers, 
 when the Indians hired themselves to their neighbors, 
 to receive their wages, and dispose of them at their 
 7*
 
 78 
 
 own discretion. Someiiines an Indian bound On a 
 whaling voyage would earn four or five hundred dollars, 
 and the shipmaster would account to the overseers for 
 the whole sum. The Indian would get some small part 
 of his due, in order to encourage him to go again, and 
 gain more for his white nnasters, to support themselves 
 and educate their children with. And this is but a 
 specimen of the systematic course taken to degrade the 
 tribe from generation to generation. I could tell of 
 one of our masters v\ho has not only supported him- 
 self and fa^mily out of the proceeds of our lands and la- 
 bors, but has educated a son at Harvard, at our expense. 
 
 It is true that if any Indian elected to leave the 
 plantation, he might settle and accumulate property 
 elsewhere, and be free ; but if he dared to return 
 home with his property, it was taken out of his hands 
 by the Board of Overseers, according to the unjust 
 law. His property had no more protection from their 
 rapacity than the rest of the plantation. In the name 
 of Heaven, (with due reverence,) I ask, what people 
 could improve under laws which gave such temptation 
 and facility to plunder ? I iliink such experiments as 
 our government have made ought to be seldom tried. 
 
 If the government of I\Iassachusett5 do not see fit 
 to believe me, I would fain propose to them a test of 
 the soundness of my reasoning. Let tliem put our 
 white neighbors in Barnstable County under the guar- 
 dianship of a Board of Overseers, and give them no 
 priviieges other than have been allowed to the poor, 
 despised Indians. Let them inflict upon the said 
 whites a preacher whom they neither love nor respect, 
 and do not wish to hear. Let them, in short, be treat-
 
 79 
 
 ed just as the Marshpee tribe have been, I think 
 there will soon be a declension of morals and popula- 
 tion. We shall see if they will be able to build up a 
 town in such circumstances. Any enterprising men 
 who may be among them will soon seek another home 
 and society, which it is not in the power of the Indians 
 to do, on account of their color. Could they have 
 been received and treated by the world as other peo- 
 ple are, there would not be so many living in Marsh- 
 pee as there are by half. 
 
 The laws were calculated to drive the tribe from 
 their possessions, and annihilate them, as a people ; 
 and I presume they would work the same effect upon 
 any other people ; for human nature is the same under 
 skins of all colors. Degradation is degradation, all 
 the world over. 
 
 If the white man desired the welfare of his red 
 brethren, why did he not give them schools? Why 
 has not the State done something to supply us with 
 teachers and places of instruction ? I trow, all the 
 schooling the Marshpee people have ever had, they 
 have gotten themselves. There was not even a house 
 on the plantation for the accommodation of a teacher, 
 till I arrived among them. We have now a house re- 
 spectable enough for even a white teacher to lodge in 
 comfortably, and we are in strong hopes that we shall 
 one day soon be able to provide for our own wants, if the 
 whites will only permit us to do so, as they never have 
 done yet. If they can but be convinced that we are hu- 
 man beings, I trust they will be our hindrance no longer. 
 
 I beg the reader's patience and "attention to a (e\r 
 general remarks. It is a sorrowful truth that, here-
 
 $0 
 
 tofore, all legislation regarding the affairs of Indians, 
 has had a direci tendency to degrade th im, to drive 
 them from their homes, and the i^raves of their fathers, 
 and to give their lands as a spoil to the general gov- 
 ernment, or to the several States. In New England, 
 especially, it can be proved that Indian lands have 
 been taken to support schools for the whites, and the 
 preaching of the gospel to them. Had the property 
 so taken been applied to the benefit of its true owners, 
 they would not and could not have been so ignorant 
 and degraded a race as they now are ; only forty-four 
 of whom, out of four or five hundred, can write their 
 names. From what I have been able to learn from 
 the public prints and other sources, the amount annu- 
 ally derived to the American peojjle, from Indian lands 
 is not far from six millions, a tax of which they have 
 almost the sole benefit. In the mean while, we daily 
 gee the Indian driven farther and farther by inhuman 
 legislation and wars, and all to enrich a people who 
 call themselves Christians, and are governed by laws 
 derived from the moral and pious puritans. I say that, 
 from the year of our Lord 1656, to the present day, 
 the conduct of the whites toward the Indians has bee« 
 one continued system of robbery. 
 
 I suppose many of my readers have heard of the 
 late robbery at Barnegat, and are ready to say, that 
 the like has never been known in this country, and 
 seldom in any other. Now, though two-thirds of the 
 inhabitants, not excluding their magistrates, have been 
 proved to be thieves, I ask, was their conduct worse, 
 or even so bad as that constantly practised br the 
 American people toward the Indians ? I say no j and
 
 81 
 
 what makes the robbery of my wronged race more 
 grievous is, that it is sanctioned by legal enactrijents. 
 Why is it more iniquitous to ])] under a stranded ship 
 than to rob, and perhaps murder, an Indian tribe ? It 
 is my private opinion that King Solomon was not far 
 wrong when he said, '' Bring up a child in the way he 
 should go, and when he is old he will not depart from 
 it." He might have said with equal propriety, *' in 
 the way he should not go." 1 am sorry that the puri- 
 tans knew no better than to bring up their children to 
 hate and oppress Indians. I must own, however, that 
 the children are growing something better than their 
 fathers were, and I wish that the children of Barnegat 
 had had better parents. 
 
 The next matter 1 shall offer, is in two more articles 
 from the Boston Advocate. The first is by the Editor. 
 
 THE INDIANS. 
 
 The arms of the State of Massachusetts, which appear at 
 the head of all official acts, and upon the seals of office, are 
 an Indian with his bow and arrows. Over his head is an arm 
 holding the sword of Justice. Is this sword designed to pro- 
 tect or oppress the Indians ? The Legislature now have the 
 opportunity to answer this question, and as they answer, will 
 be the record in history. The principal community of Indians 
 in this State, the Marshpee tribe, have presented their com- 
 plaints before the Legislature. Though an unwise attempt 
 was made by some few of the Representatives from the neigh- 
 borhood of the Indians, to prevent the reading of their peti- 
 tion, it was received with marked kindness by the House, and 
 ordered to be printed, a favor which the Indians did not think 
 of asking. 
 
 There ia evidently a disposition in the House to prove that 
 our sympathies are not confined merely to the Georgia \Vi^ 
 dians, for political effect.
 
 82 
 
 Mr. Hallett, 
 
 I perceive that your paper has spoken a good 
 word now and then for the native Indians of Massachusetts. 
 There is no class of human beings in this State, who have 
 more need of a candid and humane advocate. 
 
 I do not know much about the remnants of a once noble 
 and hospitable race, and yet I know enough to make me 
 grieve for them, and ashamed of the State. 
 
 For about two hundred years, the laAvs have prohibited In- 
 dians from selling their lands to whites, within this Common- 
 jvealth. This restriction, designed originally to protect the 
 natives against fraud, has, upon the whole, had an unfavora- 
 ble effect upon their happiness. If they had been at liberty 
 to dispose of their land and depart with the proceeds, or even 
 without the proceeds, to seek some new location, they would 
 in all probability have been happier. Nor have these prohib- 
 itory laws had even the poor effect to protect them from the 
 rapacity of their white neighbors. These have contrived to 
 clip the corners of those simple people, and to get hold of 
 their pleasant and fertile vallies in a very surprising manner, 
 considering the strictness of the law. 
 
 But the great ground of complaint is, that no native Indian, 
 or descendant, is allowed by us to be a man, or to makt him- 
 self a man, whatever may be his disposition and capacity. 
 They are all kept in a state of vassalage, under officers, ap- 
 pointed sometimes by the Governor, and sometimes by the 
 Legislature. The spot of his own ground, which he may cul- 
 tivate, is annually rented out to the Indian by an overseer ; 
 and provisions are doled out to the tribe according to the dis- 
 cretion of " Guardians,^'' " Trustees,''^ &c. Their accounts 
 are presented to tlie Governor and Council, who allow, and the 
 Treasurer of the Commonwealth pays them as a matter of 
 course. I dare not say whether those accounts are in all 
 cases correct, or not. If they are, we ought to be thankful 
 to the honesty^of the Trustees, &c. not to the wisdom of 
 the Legislature in providing checks upon fraud. 
 
 But the effect upon the Indians is the great question. This 
 m decidedly bad. They are treated more like dogs than men*
 
 83 
 
 A state of tutelage, extending: from the cradle to the grave ; 
 a state of utter dependence, breaks down every manly attri- 
 bute, and makes of human creatures, designed to walk erect, 
 creeping things. 
 
 But there is another very great evil, if I am rightly infonn- 
 ed, which calls loudly for^the interposition of the Legislature. 
 The Marshpee and other Indian communities in this State, 
 are not included within the jurisdiction of any incorporated 
 town. The consequence is, that they are without police, ex- 
 cept what the Trustees and other officers appointed by them, 
 exercise. These officers never live among them ; and the 
 consequence is, that the Indian grounds are so many Alsatias, 
 where the vagrant, the dissipated, and the felonious do con- 
 gregate. Nor is this the fault of the native. It is the fault 
 of their State ; which, while it has demolished Indian cus- 
 toms, has set up_ no regular administration of municipal laws 
 in their stead. Thus I am informed, that at Gayhead, spirit- 
 uous liquors are retailed without license, and that it is con- 
 sidered that there is no power which can reach the abuse. 
 There are many industrious and worthy people among these 
 natives, who are anxious for improvement, and to promote the 
 education and improvement of tlieir people, but a degrading 
 personal dependence on the one hand, and the absence of 
 nearly all incentives and all power to do good on the other, 
 keeps them down. 
 
 The paupers among these natives, who are at some sea- 
 sons of the year a majority or nearly all of them, are sup- 
 ported by the State, and there must be a great opportunity 
 and temptation to the agents of the government to wrong 
 these poor people. ' The agents always have the ear of the 
 government, or rather they are the government. The Indians 
 have nobody to speak for them. They are kept too poor to 
 pay counsel. I think it is not too much to say that almost 
 any degree of injustice, short of murder, might be done them 
 without any likelihood of their obtaining redress. 
 
 Why should not this odious, and brutifying system be put 
 an "end to? Why should not the remaining Indians in this 
 Commonwealth be placed upon the same footing as to rights
 
 84 
 
 of property, as to civil privileges and duties, as other men ? 
 Why should they not vote, maintain schools, (they have vol- 
 unteered to do this in some instances,) and use as they pleass 
 that which is their oven? If the contiguous towns object to 
 having them added to their corporations, let them be incor- 
 porated by themselves ; let them choose their officers, estab- 
 lish a police ; maintain fences and take up stray cattle. I 
 believe the Indians desire such a change. I believe they 
 have gone as far as they are allov/ed to introduce it. But 
 they are fettered and ground to the earth. 
 
 I am informed that many of the stoutest whalers are pro- 
 duced among our small Indian tribes. I am also informed, 
 ikat they are defrauded by the whites of a great part of their 
 wages, which would otherwise amount to large sums. If 
 some respectable men could be trained up and fostered among 
 these people, their intelligence and influence would be inval- 
 uable to educate, protect and guide their seafaring brethren. 
 Under sucl) auspices, they would, after the years of peril, 
 return and settle down with snug independence, be a bless- 
 ing to their brethren, and respectable in the sight of all. 
 Now they are so knocked about, 8o cheated, preyed upon and 
 brutalized, that they think of nothing, and hope nothing, but 
 sensual gratifications ; and in consequence, die prematurely, 
 or live worse than to die. 
 
 The Christian philanthropists of Massachusetts little know 
 the extent of evil, which there is in this respect. I entreat 
 them, I entreat the constituted authorities, to look to it. 
 
 WILLIAM PENN. 
 
 I use these pieces cbieily becau=;e they partly cor- 
 respond in truth and spirit with what I have already 
 said. Let our friends but read the laws, and they will 
 see what the sword of the Comnaonwealth is intended 
 for. In the second article there is a grievous mistake. 
 It says that the government has assisted us. The 
 Marsh pee Indians have aktays paid their full share of
 
 85 
 
 taxes, and very great ones they have been. They 
 iiave defrayed the expense of two town meetings a 
 year, and one of two of the white men whose pres- 
 ence was necessary, lived twenty-five miles off. The 
 meetings lasted three or four days at a lime, during 
 which, these men lived upon the best; at our cost, and 
 charged us three dollars a day, and twenty-five cents 
 a mile, travelling expenses, going and coming into the 
 bargain. This amounts to thirty-five dollars a trip ; 
 and as there were, as has already been said, two visi- 
 tations a year, it ap])ears that we have paid seventy 
 dollars a year to bring one visitor, whose absence 
 would have been much more agreeable to us than his 
 presence. Extend this calculation to tlu^ number of 
 seven persons, and the other expenses of our mis2;ov- 
 ci'nment, and perhaps some other expt.Mi!!:ures not 
 mentioned, and see what a sum our lax will amount to. 
 The next article is from tiic Bo.^ton Advoeaa of 
 December 27, ISS^J. 
 
 THE MARSHPEE INDIANS. 
 
 It was stated in the Barnstable Journal the other day, and 
 iias been copied into other papers, that the Marshpee Indians 
 v/ere generally satisfied with their situation, and desired no 
 change, and that the excitenient, produced principally by Mr. 
 Apes, had subsided. We had no doubt this statement was 
 incorrect, because we had personally visited most of the 
 tribe, in their houses and wigwams, in August last, and found 
 but one settled feeling of wrong and oppression pervading 
 the whole ; not a new impulse depending upon Mr. Apes or 
 any other man, but the result of the unjust laws which have 
 ruled them like a complete despotism. 
 
 The Overseers are not so much to blame as the laws. We 
 doubt not they have acted honestly : but, in the spirit of thff 
 8
 
 86 
 
 laws, they have almost unavoidably exercised a stern con- 
 trol over the property and persons of the tribe. In fact the 
 laws, as they now stand, almost permit the Overseers, with 
 impunity, to sell the Indians for slaves. They can bind them 
 out as they please, do as they please with their contracts, 
 expel thorn from the plantation almost at will, and in fact use 
 them nearly as slaves. We do not think they have intention-' 
 ally done wrong to the Indians, but the whole system of gov- 
 ernment is wrong- ; and hence the unalterable dislike the In- 
 dians have to their Overseers. No better men could be ap- 
 pointed, that v,e know of: but the best men must play the . 
 tyrant, if they execute the present laws, designed as they 
 are to oppress, and not to protect the poor Indians. 
 
 We have known these Indians, from our youth up. They 
 five near our native home. The first pleasure we ever deriv- 
 ed from the exercise of benevolence, was in satisfying the 
 calls of their women and children for bread, at our father's 
 door, and we always found them kind hearted to those* who • 
 were kind to them. We have often met with them to worship 
 in their rural meeting-house, and have again and again ex- 
 plored with the angling rod, the romantic stream, abound- 
 lEg with the nimble trout, which courses through their plan- 
 tation. 
 
 For these reasons, and these alone, v/e felt it our duty to 
 give them an opportunity to be heard through the columns of 
 our paper, while all others were closed to them, or cold to 
 their complaints. If we can do them any good, we shall have a 
 full reward in the act itself. We have it already in the sim- 
 ple tribute of gratitude, which they have unexpectedly bc- 
 iitowed upon our poor services. 
 
 They have sent us a communication, which is signed by the 
 best men in the tribe. W^e know most of these names, and 
 they belong to the most sensible and most industrious to be 
 found on the plantation. Will other papers publish this sim- 
 ple appeal to the justice of the white men ? It is useless t» 
 say after tiiis, that the Indians of Pvlarsbpee are content with 
 their condition. Something must be done for them.
 
 87 
 
 MARSHPEE INDIANS. 
 " Mr. Hallett, 
 
 It has been stated in some of the papers that 
 the Marshpee Indians are generally satisfied with their situa- 
 tion, and the conduct of the Overseers, and Avant no change. 
 It is also said that the most industrious men on tho plantation 
 are opposed to petitioning the Legislature to give them the 
 management of their own property ; and they would all have 
 been quiet, if it had not been for Mr. Apes. 
 
 Now we know something of our own rights without being 
 told by Mr. Apes, or any one. We have confidence in Mr. 
 Apes, and have seen no reason to doubt that he means well ; 
 but our dissiitisfaction with the laws and the Overseers was 
 the same as it is now, long before Mr. Apes came among us, 
 and he will have our confidence no longer than while we are 
 satisfied he does right. If he does wrong, we shall oppose 
 him as soon as any man, but so long as he honestly aids us in 
 seeking for our rights, we shall be in his favor. He is only 
 one of us, and has no more authority over the tribe than any 
 other member of it. He has been adopted into the tribe, ac- 
 coranig lu uic iuuiaa custom ; aiid as long as he deserves; our 
 confidence, v/e shall regard him as a friend. 
 
 But it is unfair to attempt to prejudice the pubhe against 
 us, while we are petitioning for our rights. It is not true that 
 the Indians are satisfied. The Legislature ought not to be 
 deceived by such stories from interested men. There is a 
 universal dissatisfaction with our condition, and unless some- 
 thing is done to relieve us, the whole tribe must suffer, and 
 they will feel as if they must give up all hope of improving 
 their condition. We wish you to publish this with our names, 
 that the public may not be deceived. 
 Daniel B. Amos, |] Oaks A. Coombs, 
 
 James Hush, Ezra Attaquin, 
 Christopher Hinson, 
 Aaron Keeter, 
 Joseph Pocknet, 
 Nicholas Pocknet, 
 David Wilbur, 
 
 William X Jcnes, (his mark,) 
 Isaac >^ Simons, " 
 
 I^aac Coombs, James Lowes, 
 George Cannada, 
 Richard Simon, 
 Daniel X Pocknet, (his mark.) 
 Peter X Squib, « 
 
 Joseph X Squib, " 
 
 Jacob ><| Pocknet, " 
 
 Israel Amos, David Mingu,
 
 88 
 
 N. B. There could be a host of names procured, but wc 
 think here are enough to satisfy the whole earth that we are 
 not satisfied to remain in bondage. 
 
 We also feel very grateful for the patriotic and benovolent 
 course that the worthy editor, Mr. Hallett, has pursued, in 
 laying our claims and oppression before the public, especially 
 as he has done it without asking the least compensation. We 
 rejoice to find sucli friends, for we believe them to be Chris- 
 tians, and impartial philanthropists. 
 
 Gentlemen and ladies of other papers are not forgotten. 
 The Indian's heart swells with gratitude to them for noticing 
 us ; and we wish that editors who are friends to our rights, 
 would please notice the above. 
 
 Done at a regular meeting at Marshpee, Dec. 23, 1833. 
 
 DANIEL B. AMOS, Sec'i/. 
 Marshpee, Dec. 23, 1833." 
 
 I quote these articles only because they serve to 
 show that there was a disposition prevalent amonn; the 
 
 against the rights and liberties of the Indians. 
 
 After our petition had been presented, our delegates 
 obtained admission into the Hall of the Representa- 
 tives, where ihey were privileged to tell their own story. 
 Our enemies endeavored to hinder them even of this, 
 !hou2;h without success ; and thankful are we that they 
 did not succeed. It will be seen from the following, 
 that the delegation were not unmindful of their duty. 
 
 The address of the Marshpee Indians at Boylston Hall, 
 last evening, was listened to with great attention, by a crowd- 
 ed house, and with approbation, too, if we may judge from 
 the repeated marks of applause. 
 
 The address at the State House last Friday evening was also 
 attended by an overflowing house. We were unable to get 
 in, and cannot, therefore, say what effect was produced by it.
 
 89 
 
 The next is fioai ihe Liberator of Jan. 25, 1834. 
 
 THE MARSHPEE INDIANS. 
 
 This is a small tribe, comprising four or five hundred per- 
 sons, residing at the head of Cape Cod, in Barnstable County- 
 They have long been under the guardianship of the State, 
 treated as paupers, and subjected to the control of a Board of 
 Overseers. A memorial from them was presented to the 
 Legislature lust week, (written entirely by one of their num- 
 ber,) in v/hich they set forth the grievances whicli are impos- 
 ed upon them, the injustice and impolicy cf the laws affect- 
 ing their tribe, the arbitrary and capricious conduct of the 
 Overseers, and the manner in which they are defrauded of 
 the fruits of their labor ; and earnestly beseech the Legisla- 
 ture to grant them the same liberty of action as is enjoyed 
 by their white brethren, that they may manage their own 
 concerns, and be directly amenable to the laws of the State, 
 and not to their present Overseers. 
 
 A delegation from this tribe is now in this city, consisting 
 of Deacon Coombs, Daniel Amos, and WiUiam Apes. The 
 use of the Plall of the House of Representatives having been 
 granted to them, they made a public statement of their situa- 
 tion and v/ants to a crowded audience on Friday evening last, 
 principally composed of mpmbers of the House ; and were 
 listened to most respectfully and attentively. 
 
 Deacon Coombs first addressed the assembly, in a brief but 
 somewhat indefinite speech ; the purport of which was, that, 
 although by taking side Avith tiie Overieers, he might have 
 advanced his own interests, he nevertheless chose to suffer 
 with his people, and to plead in their behalf. Their condi- 
 tion was growing more and more intolerable; excessive ex- 
 actions were imposed upon them ; their industry was crippled 
 by taxation ; they wished to have the Overseers discharged. 
 
 Daniel Amos next addressed the meeting. He said he 
 
 was aware of his ignorance ; but although his words might 
 
 be few, and his language broken, he as deeply sympathized 
 
 with his suffering constituents, as any of. his tribe. He gave 
 
 "8*
 
 90 
 
 a short sketch of his lite, by which it appeared that he went 
 at an early period on a whaling voyage, and received somo 
 bodily injury which incapacitated him from hard labor for a 
 long time. He sought his native home, and soon experienced 
 the severity of those laws, which, though enacted seemingly 
 to protect the tribe, are retarding their improvement, and op- 
 pressing their spirits. The present difficulties were not of 
 recent origin. He stated, with commendable pride, that he 
 had never been struck for ill-behaviour, nor imprisoned for 
 crime or debt ; nor was he ashamed to show his face again in 
 any place he had visited ; and he had been round a large por- 
 tion of the globe. The memorial before the Legislature had 
 been read to the tribe ; some parts had been omitted at their 
 request ; and nothing had been sent but by their unanimous 
 consent. After vindicating the character of Mr. Apes, and 
 enumerating some of the complaints of the tribe, 
 
 He was followed by William Apes, who, in a fearless, com- 
 prehensive and eloquent speech, endeavored to prove that, 
 under such laws and such Overseers, no people could rise 
 from their degradation. He illustrated the manner in which 
 extortions were made from the poor Indians, and plainly de- 
 clared that they wanted their rights as men and as freemen. 
 Although comparatively ignorant, yet they knew enough to 
 manage their own concerns more equitably and economically 
 than they were then managed ; and notwithstanding the di^ifi- 
 culties under which they labored, their moral condition was 
 improving. There was not so much intemperance among 
 them as formerly ; many of the tribe were shrewd, intelligent 
 and respectable men ; and all that was necessary to raise up 
 the entire mass from their low estate, was the removal of 
 those fetters and restrictions Avhich now bind them to the 
 dust. Mr. Ape;> described the cause and the extent of the 
 disturbance which took place last summer, and which result- 
 ed in his imprisonment. The head and front of their offend- 
 ing was in going into the woods, and unloading a cart, and 
 causing it to be sent away empty. The reason for that pro- 
 cedure was, that they wished no more wood to be cut until 
 an investigation of their ri^^hts had been made. They used
 
 91 
 
 no violence ; uttered no oaths ; made no threats ; and took no 
 weapons of defence. Every thing was done quietly, but firm- 
 ly. Mr. Apes wished to know from whence the right to tax 
 them without their consent, and at pleeisure, and subject tKern 
 to the arbitrary control of a Board of Overseers, was deriv- 
 ed ? He knew not himself; but he feared it was from the 
 color of their skin. He concluded by making a forcible ap- 
 peal to the justice and humanity of the Legislature, and ex- 
 pressing his confidence that the prayer of the memorialists 
 would not be made in vain. 
 
 In several instances, the speakers made some dextrous and 
 pointed thrusts at the whites, for their treatment of the sons 
 of the forest since the time of the pilgrims, which were re- 
 ceived witli applause by the audience. They were all careful 
 in their references to the conduct of the Overseers ; they 
 wished to say as little about them as possible ; but they want- 
 ed their removal forthwith. 
 
 This is the first time our attention has been seriously call- 
 ed to the situation of this tribe. It is a case not to be treated 
 with contempt, or disposed of hastily. It involves the rights, 
 the interests, and the happiness of a large number of that x 
 race which has been nearly exterminated by the neglect, the 
 oppression, and the cruelty of a superior number of foreign 
 invaders. 
 
 In the enslavement of two mil!ioD-5 of American people 
 in the Southern States, the tyranny of this nation assumes a 
 gigantic form. The magnitude of the crime elevates the in- 
 dignation of the soul. Such august villainy and stupendous 
 iniquity soar above disgust, and mount up to astonishment. 
 A conflagration like that of Moscow, is full of sublimity, 
 though dreadful in its effects ; but the burning of a soli- 
 tary hut makes the incendiary despicable by the meanness 
 of the act. 
 
 In the present case, this State is guilty of a series of petty 
 impositions upon a feeble band, which excite not so much in- 
 dignation as disgust They may be, and doubtless are, the 
 blunders of legislation ; the philanthropy of prescriptive ig- 
 norance ; the atoning injuries of prejudice, rather than delib-
 
 92 
 
 crate oppression. No matter who are tlie Overseers, (we 
 know them not,) nor how faithfully they have executed the 
 laws. The complaint is principally against the State ; inci- 
 ilentally against them. They may succeed, perhaps, in vindi- 
 cating their own conduct ; but the State is to be judged out 
 of the Statute Book, by the laws now in force for the regula- 
 tion of the tribe. Fearing, in the plenitude of its benevo- 
 lence, that the Indians would never rioe to be men, the Com- 
 monwealth has, in the perfection of its wisdom, given them 
 over to absolute pauperism. Believing they were incapable 
 of self-government as free citizens, it has placed them under 
 a guardianship which is sure to keep them in the chains of a 
 servile dependance. Deprecating partial and occasional in- 
 justice to them on the part of individuals, it has shrewdly 
 deemed it lawful to plunder thein by wholesale, continually. 
 Lamenting that the current of vitality is not strong enough 
 to give them muscular vigor and robust health, it has fasten- 
 ed upon them leeches to fatten on their blood. Assuming 
 tliat they would be too indolent to labor if they had all the 
 fruits of their industry, it has taken away all motives for supe- 
 rior exertions, by keeping back a portion of their wages. 
 Dreading lest they should run too fast, and too far, in an un- 
 fettered state, it has loaded them with chains so effectually 
 as to prevent their running at all. These are some of the 
 excellencies of that paternal guardiansliip, under which they 
 now groan, and from which they desire ths Legislature to 
 grant tlieni deliverance. 
 
 We are proud to see this spontaneous, earnest, upward 
 movement of our red brethren. It is not to be stigmatized 
 as turbulent, but applauded as meritorious. It is sedition, it 
 is true ; but only the sedition of freedom against oppression ; 
 of justice against fraud ; of humanity against cruelty. It is 
 the intellect oppossd to darkness ; the soul opposed to degra- 
 dation. It is an earnest of better things to come, provided 
 the struggling spirit be set free. Let this tribe have at 
 least a fair trial. While they remain as paupers, they will 
 feel like paupers ; be regarded like paupers ; be degraded 
 like paupers. We protest against this unnatural order of
 
 93 
 
 things ; and now that the case has come under our cognizance, 
 we shall not abandon it hastily. 
 
 We are aware that another, and probably an opposite view 
 of this case is to be laid before the public, on the part of a 
 commissioner delegated by the Governor and Council, to in- 
 quire into the difficulties which have arisen between the tribe 
 and the Overseers. We shall wait to get a glimpse of it be- 
 fore we pass judgment upon it. Whatever may be alleged 
 either against the Indians or against those who hold a super- 
 vision over them, or whatever may be said in favor of them 
 both ; we have felt authorized to make the foregoing remarks, 
 upon an examination of the laws enacted for the government 
 of these discordant parties. An augmentation, diminution, or 
 change of the Board of Overseers, will not remedy the evil. 
 It lies elsewhere ; in the absolute prostration of the petitioners 
 by a blind legislation. They are not, and do not aspire to be 
 an independent government, but citizens of Massachusetts. 
 
 Fortunately, there is a soul for freedom in the present 
 
 Legislature. A more independent House of Representatives 
 
 has never been elected by the people. The cries of ^'"' ^": 
 aians nave reacueu meir ears, and we trust affected their 
 
 hearts. They will abolish a needless and unjust protectorate. 
 The limb, which is now disjointed and bleeding, will be united 
 to the body politic. What belongs to the red man shall here- 
 after in truth be his ; and, thirsting for knowledge and aspir- 
 ing to be free, every fetter shall be broken and his soul 
 made glad. 
 
 About this time the opposition of our eneniies in- 
 creased to a flood. Yet we remained undismayed ; 
 for we knew that wc had the right on our side. S^) 
 we endin-ed tlie shots of ih.eir sharp shooters against 
 us patiently. The following, from the Boston Couriei- 
 of January '23, 18.34, will show to what I allude. 
 
 Late in the month of June last, an extraordinary proceed- 
 ing was had by the Marshpee tribe of Indians, residing on 
 their plantation in Barnstable County, under the protection
 
 94 
 
 and guardianship of this Commonwealth. Excited, as it has 
 since appeared, by the turbulent spirit of a stranger and in- 
 truder, they assembled in what they termed a town meeting, 
 and adopted resolutions declaring their independence of the 
 government of Massachusetts, abjuring the authority of the 
 laws, and proclaiming that after the first day of July then 
 next, they should assume the management of their own af- 
 fairs ; and, that " they would not permit any ivhite man from 
 that day, to come upon their Plantation to cut or carry off any 
 wood, hay, or other article, without their permission, under the 
 penalty of being bound and thrown from the Plantation." 
 
 To allay the excitement which had been created among 
 tjiese misguided people, and to ascertain and remove, as far 
 and as speedily as possible, any just cause of complaint, the 
 most prompt measures v/cre adopted by the Executive. A 
 discreet and confidential agent was despatched to the planta- 
 tion with instructions to make thorough examination into their 
 grievances, real or supposed, and to become acquainted with 
 
 their condition, and what their interest and comfort required, 
 lie wa3,uspov^iu.«j^ ^..— 3 - , ^ ^^ ^i . ,1 . . t 
 
 feelings and regard of the government of the Commonwealth 
 towards them ; to assure the head men, that, if the Overseers 
 appointed by the State, had been unjust or unkind, they should 
 forthwith be removed, and others appointed in their stead, and 
 the wrongs sustained at their hand amply redressed, but that 
 the guardianship, originally imposed for their security against 
 the frauds and wicked devices of unprincipled white men, 
 and continued under frequent assurances, by the Indians them- 
 selves, of its necessity, could not be suspended by the author- 
 ity of the Governor and Council. That this rested with the 
 Legislature, to which, after careful investigation of their com- 
 plaints, a proper representation would be made by the Execu- 
 tive. He was also directed to caution them against heeding 
 tlie counsels of those who would excite them to disquiet in 
 their present situation, and to admonish them, that disorder 
 and resistance to any rightful authority would meet with 
 immediate and exemplary correction, through the civil tri- 
 ijunals,
 
 95 
 
 On reaching the plantation, the agrent found these deluded 
 people in a state of open rebellion against the government of 
 the State, having -with force, seized upon the Meeting-house, 
 rescued from the Overseers a portion of property in their 
 possession, chosen officers of their own, and threatened vio- 
 lence to all who should attempt to inierfere with them, in the 
 measures of self-government which they had assumed. These 
 threatenings and outrages had already created great alarm 
 among the white inhabitants in the neighborhood, and induc- 
 ed to apprehensions of more serious consequences. Through 
 the firmness and prudence of the agent, sustained by the ad- 
 vice and good offices of several intelligent citizens of tlic 
 County, the leader in the i;edition Avas arrested for a breach 
 of the peace, and delivered over to the civil authority. An 
 inquiry into the conduct of the Overseers subsequently con- 
 ducted by the agent in the presence of the head men, and 
 the conciliatory, and friendly explanations offered to the tribe, 
 of their relations to the government of the State, resulted in 
 inducing them to rescind their former violent resolves, and 
 restored quiet to the plantation. 
 
 A minute and interesting report by the gentleman to whom 
 this delicate service was assigned, embracing an historical 
 account of the tribe, and describing their present condition, 
 character and numbers, with the situation, value, and im- 
 jjrovement of their property, and the manner in which the 
 guardianship constituted by law has been exercised over 
 them, accompanies this communication. The Indians have 
 received an assurance, that the attention of the Legislature 
 shall be invited to their complaints, and the report will, not 
 fail to assist in the deliberations to which the subject may 
 give occasion. 
 
 Dv)Os ii not appear from this, aiid from his messnire, 
 thai the Ex-Govcrncr is a \r.?,n of pure republican 
 {■.rinci[>Ics ? lie seems lo consider ihe Marshpees as 
 strangers, and thinks they otjghl to be driven to the 
 wilds of the ha- ^^'est ; in hinnble imitation of tliat
 
 96 
 
 \\isej learneH, and humane politician, Andrew Jack- 
 son, L. L. D. 
 
 1 do consider that neiihei I nor any of my brethren 
 enjoy any political rights ; and 1 desire that I and they 
 may be treated like men, and not like children. It' 
 any among ns are capable of discharging the duties of 
 office, I wish them to be made eligible, and I wish for 
 the right of suffi-age which other [nen exercise, though 
 not for the purpose of pleasing any party by our votes. 
 I never did so, and I never will. O, that all men of 
 color thought and felt as I do on this subject. 
 
 1 believe that Governor Lincoln had no regard what- 
 ever for our riii;hts and liberties ; but as he did not iiei 
 his ends answered, I shall leave him to his conscience. 
 The following from Mr. Hallett,of the Advocate, ful'y 
 explains his message : 
 
 THE MARSHPEE INDIANS. 
 
 The current seems to be setting very strong against ex- 
 tending any relief to our red brethren. Governor Lincoln's 
 ex-message has served to turn back all the kind feelings that 
 vrere beginning to expand to'.vard the Marshpee tribe, and 
 force and intimidation are to be substituted for kindness and 
 mercy. 
 
 We cannot but think that Massachusetts will he dishonored 
 by pursuing the stern course recommended by Ex -Governor 
 Xfncoln, who seems, by one of his letters to Mr. Fiske, to 
 haye contemplated almost with pleasure, the prospect of su- 
 perintending in person, military movements against a handful 
 of Indians, M-ho could not have mustered twenty muskets on 
 the plantation. 
 
 We see now how unjust we have been to the Georgians in 
 their treatment of the Cherokees, and if we persist in op- 
 pressing the Marshpee Indians, let us hasten to unresolvt all 
 the glowing resolves we made in favor of the Georgia In-
 
 97 
 
 diand. If Governor Lincoln is ricrht in his unkind denuncia- 
 tion of ths poor Marshpee Indians, then was not Governor 
 Troop of Georgia right, in his messages and measures against 
 the Cherokees ? If the Court at Barnstable was right in im- 
 prisoning the Indians for attempting to get their rights, as 
 they understood them, and made their ignorance of the law- 
 no excuse, were not the Courts of Georgia justifiable in their 
 condemnation of the Cherokees, for violations of laws en- 
 forced against the will of the helpless Indians ? 
 
 Oh, it was glorious to be generous, and magnanimous and 
 philanthropic toward the Cherokees, and to weep over the 
 barbarities of Georgia, because that could be turned to ac- 
 count against General Jackson; but wlien it comes home to 
 our own bosoms, when a little handful of red men in our own 
 State, come and ask us for permission to manage their own 
 property, under reasonable restrictions, and presume to re- 
 solve that all men are free and equal, without regard to com- 
 plexion ; Governor Lincoln denounces it as sedition, the 
 Legislature are exhorted to turn a deaf ear, and the Indians 
 are left to their choice betv/een sabmission to tyrannical laws, 
 or having the militia cnlied out to shoot them. How glorious 
 this will read in history i 
 
 The next is ko:n ilie Barnstable Patriot, of Feb- 
 riiary 5, 1S34, of a diffeient character. 
 
 MARSHPEE INDIANS. 
 Mr. Editor, 
 
 Yv^illiam Apes, Deacon Coombs, and Daniel 
 Amos, are now in Boston, where they are much caressed, by 
 tlie good citizens, and are styled the ^•Marshpee Deputation f 
 and we see in the Boston papers notices that the " Marshpee 
 Deputation will be present at the Tremont Theatre, by invi- 
 tation."* " That the Marshpee Deputation will address the 
 public upon the subject of their grievances, in the ^^Iteprc- 
 sentative Hallj*' "in Boylston Hal!," &c. And we learn at 
 their ^Halk" in the Representative Hall, they drew a large 
 audience, and that audience was so indiscreet, (not to say in- 
 
 * Mr. Apes did not attctid. 
 
 9
 
 9S 
 
 decorous or riotous,) as to cheer and applaud Apes in his 
 ribaldry, misrepresentation and nonsense. Really, it looks 
 to us, as if there was much misunderstanding upon the. sub- 
 ject of the Marshpee difficulties. If there is any thing wrong 
 we would have it put right; but how does the case appear. 
 x\t the time of Apes' coming among them, they were quiet 
 and peaceable, and their condition, mentally, morally and pe- 
 cuniarily improving. At this time, and when this is the con- 
 dition and situation of the Indians, comes this intruder, this 
 disturber, this riotous and mischief-making Indian, from the 
 Pequot tribe, in Conneoticut. lie goes among the inhabi- 
 tants of Marshpee, and by all the arts of a talented, educated, 
 wily, unprincipled Indian, professing with all, to be an apostle 
 of Christianity ; he stirs them up to sedition, riot, treason ! 
 Instigates them to declare their independence of the laws of 
 Massachusetts, and to arm themsdves to defend it. 
 
 We need not follow, minutely, the transactions which rap- 
 idly succeeded this state of things. We will merely remark 
 that, in that time of rebellion, prompt, efficient, but mild 
 measures were taken by the Executive, to quell the disturb- 
 ances, and restore good faith. An agent was sent by the 
 Governor, to inquire into the cause, arid if possible, to remove 
 it. That agent found it to be his duty to arrest Apes, (that 
 pious interloper,) as a riotous and seditious person, and bind 
 him over for trial, at the Common Pleas Court. He was 
 there tried ; and, in our opinion, never was there a fairer trial. 
 He was convicted ; and, in our opinion, never was there a 
 more just conviction, or a milder sentence. After the per- 
 formance of his sentence. Apes is again at work stirring up 
 new movements. And having strung together a list of im- 
 nffiiiary grievances, and false allegations, and affixed a ^reat 
 number of names, without the knovv-ledge or consent of many 
 of the individuals, he goes to the Legislature, with two of his 
 ignorant, deluded followers, pretending to be " the Marshpee 
 Deputation,^^ and asks redress and relief. 
 
 We would be the last to object to their receiving redress 
 and relief; and we doubt not they will obtain, at the hands 
 of the Legislature, all they ought to have. Bat who is the
 
 99 
 
 "^ Marshpee Deputaiion,^^ that is showing off to such advan- 
 tage in the city ? It is William Apes, the convicted rioter, 
 who was the whole cause of the disgraceful sedition at Marsh- 
 pee the last summer ; who is a hypocritical missionary, from 
 a tribe in Connecticut ; whose acquaintance with the Marsh- 
 peeans is of less than a yearns standing. And he is endeav- 
 oring to enlist public sympathy in his favor, in advance, by 
 lecturing in the Hall of Representatives, upon that pathetic 
 and soul-stiring theme, Indian degradation and oppression : 
 vilifying and abusing the irreproachable pastor of the planta- 
 tion, Mr. Fish; stigmatizing and calumniating the Court and 
 Jury who tried and convicted him, and flinging his sarcasms 
 and sneers upon the Attorney and Jury who indicted him. 
 And for all this, he is receiving the applause of an audience, 
 who must be ignorant of his character : and blinded by the 
 pretences of this impostor. And as far as that audience is 
 composed of Legislators, their conduct, in permitting Apes 
 to enlist their passions and feelings in his favor, pending a 
 Legislative investigation of the subject, is reprehensible. 
 
 But, there is no fear that the matter will not be set right. 
 That the investigation by the intelligent agent last summer, 
 (Mr. Fiske,) and the investigation now going on by a com- 
 mittee of the Legislature, will show the true character of 
 Apes, and point out the real wants and grievances of the In- 
 dians ; and that the remedy will be applied, to the satisfac- 
 tion of the Indians and the discomfiture of that renegade im» 
 postor and hypocritical interloper and disturber, Apes, there is 
 little doubt; that such may be the result, is the sincere wish of 
 The true Friends of the Indians. 
 
 The spirit in which this unrighteous piece is written, 
 speaks for itself, and is its own autidote. However, it 
 is just what we might expect from a liberal paper oC 
 the liberal town of Barnstable. So one gang of par- 
 tizans call it. Deliver us from a '* patriot," who 
 would set his face against nil good, and destroy the 
 people themselves. These writers, if tliere be more
 
 100 
 
 than one of them, scern to have soine idea of piety 
 and religion. 1" therefore advise them to pluck the 
 motes out of their own eyes, thai they niay see clearly 
 enough to make belter marks with their pens. The 
 editor and his correspondents, (if he did not write the 
 article himself,) have rendcicd themselves liable to a 
 suit for defamation ; but i ihink it best lo lei ihem go. 
 I will not touch pitch. The discomfited, hypocritical 
 imposlor, renegade and interloper will forgive, and 
 pray for them. He will not render evil for evil, 
 though sorely provoked. 
 
 Nevertheless, I feel bound to say to these excellent 
 friends of the ^larshpees, who wished them to remain 
 crushed under the burihen of hard laws forever and 
 ever, that they will go down to their graves in the dis- 
 appointment, which, perhaps, will cause them to weep 
 away their lives. ' 1 should be sorry to hear of that, 
 and exhort them to dry their tears, or suffer a poor 
 Indian to wipe them away. 
 
 Notwithstanding all that was said and done by the 
 opposition, the IMarshpee Deputation left the field of 
 battle with a song of triumph and rejoicing in their 
 mouths, as will presently be seen. I shall give a brief 
 sketch of the proceedings of one of the most enlight- 
 ened committees that ever was drafted from a legisla- 
 tive body. Every thing was done to sour their minds 
 against the Indians that could be done, but ihey w-ere 
 of the excellent of the earth, just and impartial. 
 
 The Committee was composed of IMessrs. Barton 
 and Strong, of the Senate, and Messrs. Dwight of 
 Stockbridge, Fuller of Springfield, and Lewis of Pep-
 
 101 
 
 perell, of the House. Benjamin F. Hallett, Esq. ap- 
 peared as Counsel for the Indians. 
 
 Lemuel Ewer, Esq. of South Sandwich, was a wit- 
 ness, and the only white one who was in favor of the 
 Indians. Tlie Indian witnesses were Deacon Coombs. 
 Daniel B. Amos, Ebenezer Attaquin, Joseph B. Amos, 
 and William Apes. 
 
 On the other side appeared Kilhurn Whitman, Esq. 
 of Pembroke, as Counsel for the Overseers ; Messrs. 
 J. J. Fiske of VVrentham, and Elijah Swift of Fal- 
 mouth, both of the Governor's Council ; the Rev. 
 Phineas Fish, the Marshpee missionary, sent by Har- 
 vard College ; Judge Marston, Nathaniel Hinckley and 
 Charles Marston, all of Barnstable; Gideon Hawleyof 
 South Sandwich, Judge Whitman of Boston, and two 
 Indians, Nathan Pocknet and William Amos, by name. 
 It was a notable ))iece of policy on the part of the 
 Overseers, to make a few friends among the Indians, 
 in order to use them for their own purposes. Thus do 
 pigeon trappers use to set up a decoy. When the 
 bird flutters, the flock settle round him, the net is 
 sprung, and ihey are in fast hands. Judge Whitman, 
 however, could not make his two decoy birds flutter 
 to his satisfaction, and so he got no chance to spring 
 his net. He had just told the Indians that they might 
 as well think to move the rock of Gibraltar from its 
 base, as to heave the heavy load of guardianship from 
 their shoulders ; and, when he first came before the 
 committee, he said he did not care a snap of his finger 
 about the matter, one way or the other. But he alter- 
 ed his mind before he got through the business, and 
 began to say that he should be ruined if the bill passed 
 9*
 
 102 
 
 for the relief of the Indians, arid was, ni(jreover, sure 
 that Apes would reign, king of Marshpee. The old 
 gentleman, indeed, made several perilous thrusts at me 
 in his plea ; but, when he came to cross-examination, 
 he was so pleased with the correctness of my testi- 
 mony, that he had nothing more to say to me. 1 shall 
 now leave him, to attend to liis friend Judge Marston. 
 
 Tills tientleman swore in court that he thouerht In- 
 dians an inferior race of men ; and, of course, were 
 incapable of managing their own affairs. 
 
 The testimony of the two decoy pigeons was, that 
 they had liberty enough ; more than they knew what to 
 do w'itli. They showed plainly enough that they knew 
 nothing of the law they lived under. The testimony 
 of the Rev. Mr. Fish was more directly against us. 
 Some may think 1 do wrong to mention this gentle- 
 man's name so often. But w-hy, when a man comes 
 forward on a public occasion, should ijis name be kept 
 out of sio:lit, thouo:h he be a cleravman. I should 
 think he would like to make his flock respected and 
 respectable in his speech, which he well knew they 
 never could be under the tlicn existing laws. Is it 
 more than a fair inference that it was self-interest that 
 made him do otherwise, that he might be able to con- 
 tinue in possession of his strong hold ? If he had said 
 to the Indians, like an honest mm, " I know I have no 
 right to what is yours, and will willingly relinquish 
 what 1 hold of it," I do not doubt that the Indians 
 would have given him a house, and a life estate in a 
 farm ; and perhaps have conveyed it to him in fee 
 simple, if he had behaved v^'ell. Sucii a course would 
 have won him the love and esteem of the Indians, and
 
 103 
 
 his blind obstinacy was certainly the surest means he 
 could have taken to gain their ill will. He may think 
 slightly of their good opinion, and I think, from his 
 whole course of conduct, that we are as dogs in his 
 sight. I presume he could not die in peace if he 
 thought he was to be buried beside our graves. 
 
 It is the general fault of those who go on missions, 
 that they cannot sacrifice the pride of their hearts, 
 in order to do good. It seems to have been usually 
 the object to seat the Indians between two stools, in 
 order that they might fall to the ground, by breaking 
 up their government and forms of society, without giv- 
 ing them any others in their place. It does not appear 
 to be the aim of the missionaries to improve the Indians 
 by making^ citizens of them. Hence, in most cases, 
 anarchy and confusion are the results. Nothing has 
 more effectually contributed to the decay of several 
 tribes than the course pursued by their missionaries. 
 Let us look back to the first of them for proofs. From 
 ihe days of Eilioit, to the year 1834, have they made 
 one citizen ? The latter date marks the first instance 
 of such an experiment. Is it not strange that free men 
 should thus have been held in bondage more than two 
 hundred yexirs, and that setting them at liberty at this 
 late day, should be called an experiment now ? 
 ~ 1 would not be understood to say, however, that the 
 Rev. Mr. Fish's mission is any criterion to judge others 
 by. No doubt, many of them have done much good ; 
 but I greatly doubt that any missionary has ever thought 
 of making the Indian or African his equal. As soon 
 as we begin to talk about equal rights, the cry of amal- 
 gamation is set up, as if men of color could not enjoy
 
 104 
 
 their natural rights without any necessity for intermar- 
 riage between the sons and daughters of the tvvo races. 
 Strange, strange indeed ! Does it follow that the In- 
 dian or the A-frican must go to the judge on his bench, 
 or to the Governor, Senator, or indeed any other man, 
 to ask for a help-m^et, because his name may be found 
 on the voter's list, or in the jury boxes ? 1 promise all 
 concerned, that we Marshpees have less inclination to 
 seek their daughters than they have to seek ours. 
 Should the worst come to the worst, does the proud 
 white think that a dark skin is less honorable in the 
 sight of God than his own beautiful hide ? All are 
 alike, the sheep of his pasture and the workmanship 
 of his hands. To say they are not alike to him, is an 
 insult to his justice. Who shall dare to call that in 
 question ? 
 
 Were I permitted to express an opinion, it would 
 be that it is more honorable in tlie two races, to inter- 
 marry than to act as too many of them do. My 
 advice to tlie white man is, to let the colored race 
 alone. It will considerably diminish the annual amount 
 of sin committed. Or else let them even marry our 
 daughters, and no more ado about amalgamation. We 
 desire none of their connection in that way. All we 
 ask of them is peace and our rights. We can find 
 wives enough without asking any favors of iliem. We 
 have some wild flowers among us as fair, as blooming, 
 and quite as pure as any they can shou'. But enough 
 has been said on this subject, which I should not have 
 mentioned at all, but that it has been rung in my ears 
 by almost every white lecturer I ever had the misfor- 
 tune to meet. 
 
 -ik'
 
 105 
 
 1 will now entreat ibe reader's attention to ihe very 
 able plea of Mr. Hallett, upon our petiiion and re- 
 monstrances. The following are his remarks after llie 
 law which gave us our hberty was passed by his ex- 
 ertions in our cause : 
 
 1 will now briefly consider the "documents, relating to tl>e 
 Marshpee Indians," which have been presented aiid printed, 
 this session, by the two Houses. 
 
 The first is a Memorial, signed by seventy-nine males and 
 ninety-two females, of the Plantation. Of the seventy -nine 
 males, sixty-two are Proprietors, and forty-four write their 
 own names. They are all united in wishing to have a change 
 of the laws, and a removal of the Overseership, but desire 
 that their land may not be sold without the mutual consent 
 of the Indians and the General Court. 
 
 This memorial represents, 1. That no particular pains has 
 been taken to instruct them. 2. That they are insignificant 
 because they have had no opportunities. 3. That no enlight- 
 ened or respectable Indian, wants Overseers. 4. That their 
 rulers and the minister have been put over them, without their 
 consent. 5. That the minister, (Mr. Fish,) has not a male 
 member in his church of the Proprietors, and they believe 
 twenty years would have been long enough for him to have 
 secured their confidence. 6. That the laws which govern 
 them and take away their property, are unconstitutional. 7. 
 That the whites have had three times more benefit of the 
 Meeting-house and the minister, than they have had. 8. That 
 the business meetings for the tribe, have been held off the plan- 
 tation, at an expense to them. 9. That their Fishery has been 
 neglected and the whites derived the most benefit from it. 
 [The Overseers admit that the Herring Fishery has not been 
 regulated for fifty years, although in 1763, it appears it was 
 deemed a highly important interest, and in 1818, the Commis- 
 sioners reported that it ought to be regulated for the benefit 
 of the Indians to the exclusion of the whites.] 10. That the 
 laws discourage their people, who leave the plantation on that
 
 106 
 
 account. 1 1. That men out of the tribe are paid for doing what 
 those in it are capable of doing for the plantation. 12. That 
 the whites derive more benefit than themselves, from their 
 hay, Avood and timber. 13. That the influence of the whites 
 has been against them, in their petitions for the past years. 14. 
 That they believe they hare been wronged out of their prop- 
 erty. 15. That they want the Overseers discharged, that they 
 may have a chance to take care of themselves. 16. That very 
 many of their people are sober and industrious, and able and 
 willing to do, if they had the privilege. All these statements 
 will be found abundantly proved. 
 
 This memorial comes directly from the Indians. It was 
 drawn up among them without the aid of a single white man. 
 They applied to me to prepare it for them. They happened 
 to select me, as their counsel, simply because I was born and 
 brought up within a few miles from their plantation, and had 
 known their people from my infancy. I told them to present 
 their grievances in their own way, and they have done so. Not 
 a line of the memorial was written for them. 
 
 On the other side, opposite to their memorial for self-govern- 
 ment, is the remonstrance of JVathan Pocknet and forty-nine 
 others, the same Nathan Pocknet, who in 1818 petitioned for 
 the removal of the Overseership. This remonstrance was not 
 prepared by the Indians. It came wholly from the Rev. Mr. 
 Fish, and the Overseers. It speaks of the "unprecedented 
 impudence" of the Indians, and mentions a ^^Traverse Jury^ 
 No one who signed it, had any voice in preparing it. It shows 
 ignorance of the memorial of the tribe, by supposing they ask 
 for liberty to sell their lands ; and ignorance of the law, by 
 saying that the Overseers have not power to remove nuisances 
 from the plantation. 
 
 This remonstrance is signed by fifty persons, sixteen males 
 and thirty-four females ; seventeen can write. Of the signers, 
 ten belong to Nathan Pocknet's family. Ten of the males are 
 Proprietors, of whom two are minors, and one a person non 
 compos. Of the non-proprietors, one is a convict, recently 
 released from State prison, who has no right on the Plantation. 
 Two of the Proprietors, who signed this remonstrance, (John
 
 107 
 
 Speen and Isaac Wickham,) have since certified that they un- 
 derstood it to be the petition for Mr. Fish, to retain his salary, 
 but that they are entirely opposed to having Overseers and to 
 the present laws. 
 
 Thus it is shown that out of the whole Plantatign of 229 
 Proprietors, but ^ye men could be induced, by all the influ- 
 ence of the Minister and the Overseer, to sign in favor of 
 having the present laws continued, and but eleven men out of 
 the whole population of 312. The signers to the memorial 
 for a change of the laws are a majority of all the men, 
 women and children belonging to the Plantation, at home 
 and abroad. 
 
 Another document against the Indians who ask for their 
 liberty, is the memorial of the Rev. Phineas Fish, the mis- 
 sionary. Of the unassuming piety, the excellent character, 
 and the sound learning of that reverend gentleman, I cannot 
 speak in too warm terms. I respect him as a man, and honor 
 him as a devoted minister of the gospel. But he is not 
 adapted to the cultivation of the field in which his labors 
 have been cast. Until I read this memorial, I should not 
 have believed that a severe expression could have escaped 
 him. I regret the spirit of that memorial, and in its compari- 
 son with that of the Indians, I must say it loses in style, in 
 dignity and in Christian temper. 
 
 In this memorial, Mr. Fish urges upon the Legislature the 
 continuance of the laws of guardianship as they now are, 
 and especially the continuance of the benefits he derives 
 from the i)roperty of the plantation. What are the reasons 
 he gives for this. Do they not look exclusively to his own 
 benefit, without regard to the wishes of the Indians ? 
 
 He states, as the result of his ministry, twenty members of 
 the tribe added to his church in twenty-two years. This sin- 
 gle fact proves that his ministry has failed of producing any 
 effect at all proportioned to the cost it has been to the In- 
 dians. Not from want of zeal or ability, perhaps, but from 
 want of adaptation. If not, why have other preachers been 
 so much more successful than the missionary. There never 
 has been a time that this church was not controlled by the
 
 108 
 
 whites. Mr. Fish now has but five colored members of his 
 church, and sixteen whites. Of the five colored persons, but 
 one is a male, and he has recently signed a paper saying he 
 has been deceived by Mr. Fish's petition, which he signed, 
 and that he does not now wish his stay any longer among 
 them. 
 
 On the other hand, "blind Jo," as he is called, a nati>e In- 
 dian, blind from his birth, now 28 years of age, has educated 
 himself by his ear and his memory, has been regularly or- 
 dained as a Baptist minister, in full fellowship with that de- 
 nomination, and has had a little church organized since 1830. 
 The Baptist denomination has existed on the plantation, for 
 forty years, but has received no encouragement. Blind Jo 
 has nevej- been taken by the hand by the missionary or the 
 Overseers. The Indians Avere even refused the use of their 
 Meeting-house, for the ordination of their blind minister, and 
 he was ordained in a private dwelling. Though not possess- 
 ing the eloquence of the blind preacher, so touchingly de- 
 scribed in the glowing and chaste letters of Wirt's British 
 Spy. yet there is much to admire in the simple piety and 
 sound doctrines of " Blind Jo ;" and he will find a way to 
 tlic hearts of his hearers, which the learned divine cannot 
 explore. 
 
 There is another denomination on the plantation, organized 
 as "The Free and United Church," of which William Apes 
 is the pastor. This denomination Mr. Fish charges with an 
 attempt to usurp the parsonage, wood-land and the Meeting- 
 house ; he denounces, as a ^'- flagrant ad,^^ the attempt of the 
 Indians to obtain the use of their own Mttihig-house, and ap- 
 peals to the sympathies of the v/hoie civilized community to 
 maintain by law the Congregational worship, which, he says, 
 "is the most ancient form of religious worship there!" 
 " Why should Congregational worship be excluded to make 
 room for others ?" ask^j the Rev. Mr. Fish. "Where will be 
 the end of vicissitude on the adoption of such a principle, 
 and how is' it possible, amid the action of rival factions, for 
 pure religion to bo promoted." [Pages 7, 8, 9, of Mr. Fish's 
 memorial. Senate, No. 17.] Is this language for a Christian
 
 109 
 
 minister to address to the Legislature of Massachusetts ? To 
 petition for an established Church in Marshpee ? Can he 
 ever have read the third Article of the Bill of Rights, f.s 
 amended ? 
 
 What has been the result of these "rival factions," in 
 Marshpee ? Blind Jo and William Apes, have forty-stven In- 
 dian members of their churches, (fourteen malt^s,) in good 
 standing, collected together in three years. The missionary 
 has baptized but twenty in twenty-two years. The Indian 
 preachers have also established a total abstinence Tempe- 
 rance Society, without any aid from the missionary, and there 
 are ah'oady sixty members of it, Avho, from all the evidence in 
 the case, there is no reason to doubt, live up to their profession. 
 
 I do not say this to detract from the good the missionary 
 has done ; I doubt not he has done much good, and earnestly 
 desired to do more ; but when he denounces to the Legisla- 
 ture other religious denominations, as usurpers and ^^ rival 
 factions,''^ it is but reasonable that a comparison should be 
 drawn between the fruit of his labors and that of those lie 5o 
 severely condemns. 
 
 I confess, I am struck with surprise, at the following re- 
 marks, in the memorial of the Rev. Mr. Fish. Speaking of 
 the complaint of the Indians respecting their Meeting-house, 
 that it is not fit for respectable people to meet in, being worn 
 out ; he says, ".Vs it was built by a white Missionary Society, 
 and repaired at the expense of the white Legislature of the 
 State, perhaps the whites may think themselves entitled to 
 some wear of it, and being no way fit for ' respectable people,' 
 the church and congregation hope they may the more readily 
 be left unmolested in their accustomed use of it." [Page 4.] 
 Again he says of the complaints of the Indians, that they 
 were forbidden to have preaching in their School-houses. 
 •' The School-houses, built by the munificence of the State, 
 began to be occupied for Meeting-houses, soon after their 
 erection, and have been more or less occupied in this fash- 
 ion I ever since ; and your memorialist desires to affirm that 
 in this perversion of your lihcral purpose, he had no share 
 whatever ! I " 
 
 10
 
 110 
 
 Is this possible ? Can it be a perversion of buildings erect- 
 ed for the mental and moral improvement of the Indians, that 
 religious meetings should be held there, by ministers whom 
 the Indians prefer to the Missionary ? 
 
 The inequality in the appropriations for religious instruc- 
 tion, is remarked upon by the Commissioner, Hon. 2flr. Fiske, 
 who says in his report that if the present appropriations are 
 to be restricted to a Congregationalist minister, some further 
 provision, in accordance with religious freedom, ought to be 
 made for the Baptist part of the colored people. [Page 29. 
 No. 14.] 
 
 I regret too, the unkind allusion in the Rev. Mr. Fish's 
 memorial to Deacon Coombs, the oldest of the Marshpee del- 
 egation, formerly his deacon, and the last proprietor to leave 
 him. He says the deacon " once walked worthy of his holy 
 calling." Does he mean to insinuate he does not walk wor- 
 thily now ? I wish you, gentlemen, to examine Deacon 
 Coombs, who is present, to inquire into his manner of life, and 
 see if you can find a Christian with a white skin, whose heart 
 is purer, and whose walk is more upright, than this same 
 Deacon Coombs. In point of character and intelligence, he 
 would compare advantageously with a majority of the Select- 
 men in the Commonwealth. 
 
 With the religious concerns of Marshpee, I have no wish 
 to interfere. I only seek to repel intimations that may ope- 
 rate against their prayer for the liberties secured by the Con- 
 stitution. Neither do I stand here to defend Mr. Apes, who 
 is charged with being the leader of the " sedition." I only 
 ask you to look at the historical evidence of the existence of 
 discontent with the laws, ever since 1693, and ask if Mr. 
 Apes has been the author of this discontent. Let me remind 
 you also, of the fable of the Huntsman and the Lion, when 
 the former boasted of the superiority of man, and to prove it 
 pointed to a statue of one of the old heroes, standing upon a 
 prostrate lion. The reply of the noble beast was, " there are 
 no carvers among the lions ; if there were, for one man stand- 
 ing upon a lion, you would have twenty men torn to pieces 
 bv lions." Gentlemen, by depressing the Indians, our lavs
 
 Ill 
 
 have taken care that they should have no carvers. The 
 whites have done aU the carving for them, and have always 
 placed them undermost. Can we blame them, then, that when 
 they found an educated Indian, with Indian sympathies and 
 feelings, they employed him, to present their complaints, and 
 to enable them to seek redress ? Look at this circumstance, 
 fairly, and I think you will find in it the origin of all the 
 prejudice against William Apes, which may be traced to those 
 of the -whites who are opposed to any change in the present 
 government of Marshpee. If aught can be shown against 
 him, I hope it will be produced here in proof, that the Indians 
 may not be deceived. If no other proof is produced, except 
 his zeal in securing freedom for the Indians, are you not to 
 conclude that it cannot be done. But his individual character 
 has nothing to do with the merits of the question, though I 
 here pronounce it unirnpeached. 
 
 I will allude to but one other suggestion in the memorial 
 of the Rev. Mr. Fish, [page 10.] To show the necessity of 
 continuing the present laws, he says, " already do we witness 
 the force of example in the visible increase of crime. But a 
 few weeks since, a peaceable family was fired in upon, during 
 their midnight repose ; while I have been writing, another 
 has been committed to prison for a high misdemeanor." 
 
 Now what are tke facts, upon which this grave allegation 
 against the whole tribe is founded. True, a ball was fired 
 into a house on the plantation, but without any possible con- 
 nection with the assertion of their rights by the Indians, and 
 to this day it is not known whether it was a white man or g.n 
 Indian who did it. The " high misdemeanor," was a quarrel 
 between Jerry Squib, an Indian, and John Jones, a white 
 man. Squib accused Jones of cheating him in a bargain, 
 when intoxicated, and beat him for it. The law took up the 
 Indian for the asssult, and let the white man go for the fraud. 
 
 Respecting then, as we all do, the personal character of 
 the missionary, can you answer his prayer, to continue the 
 present government, in order to protect him in the reception 
 of his present income from the lands of the Indians ? Are 
 the interests of a whole people to be sacrificed to one man '
 
 112 
 
 What says the Bill of rights ? " Government is instituted 
 for the common good, for the protection, safety, prosperity, 
 and happiness of the people, and not for the profit, honor or 
 private interest of any one man, family, or class of men." 
 
 I have now only to consider the report of the Commis- 
 sioner, Mr. Fiske, who visited Marshpee in July last. The 
 impartiality, candor and good sense of that report, are highly 
 honorable to that gentleman. Deriving his first impressions 
 from the Overseers and the whites, and instructed as he was 
 with strong prepossessions against the Indians, as rebels to 
 the State, tlie manner in which he discharged that duty, de- 
 serves a high encomium. He has my thanks for it, as a friend 
 of the Indians. As far as the knowledge of the facts enabled 
 the Commissioner to go, in the time allowed him, the conclu- 
 sions of that report, substantiate all the positions taken in de- 
 fence of the rights of the Indians. The Commissioner was 
 instructed by the then Governor Lincoln, to inform the In- 
 dians that the government had no other object than their best 
 good; "let them be convinced that their grievances will be 
 inquired into, and a generous and paternal regard be had to 
 their condition." They were so convinced, and they come 
 here now, for a redemption of this pledge. 
 
 But his Excellency seems to have been strangely impress- 
 ed with the idea of suppressing some rebellion, or another 
 Shay's insurrection. Mr, Hawley, one of the Overseers, had 
 visited the Governor, at Worcester, and because a few In- 
 dims had quietly unloaded a wood-cart, the calling out of the 
 militia seems to have been seriously conteni plated by the fol- 
 lowing order, issued to the Commissioner, by the Governor, 
 dated July 5. "Should there be reason to fear the insuffi- 
 ciency of the posse comitatus, I will ee present persoiX- 
 
 ALLY, TO DIRECT ANY MILITARY REQUISITIONS." 
 
 Think of that, gentlemen of the Committee ! Figure to 
 yourselves his Excellency, at the head of the Boston and 
 Worcester Brigades, ten thousand strong, marching to 
 Marshpee, to suppress an insurrection, when scarce twen- 
 ty old muskets could have been mustered on the whole 
 plantation ''
 
 113 
 
 With the utmost respect for his Excellency, I could not re- 
 frain on reading this "order of the day," from exclaiming, as 
 Lord Thurlow did, when a breathless messenger informed 
 him that a rebellion had broken out in the Isle of Man — 
 "pshaw — a tempest in a tea pot." 
 
 Let us not, however, because the Indians are weak and in- 
 offensive, be less regardful of their rights. 
 
 You will gather from the Report of Mr. Fiske, conclusive 
 evidence of the long continued and deep rooted dissatisfac- 
 tion of the Indians with the laws of guardianship, that they 
 never abandoned the ground that all men were born free and 
 equal, and they ought to have the right to rule and govern 
 themselves ; that by a proper exercise of self-government, 
 and the management of their own pecuniary affairs, they had 
 it in their power to elevate themselves much above their 
 present state of degradation, and that by a presentation ol' 
 new motives for moral and mental improvement, they might 
 be enabled, in a little time, to assume a much higher rank on 
 the scale of human existence. And that the Legislature 
 would consider their case, was the humble and earnest re- 
 quest of the natives. 
 
 Is not the conclusion then, from all the facts in the case, 
 that the system of laws persisted in since 1763, have failed 
 as acts of paternal care ? That the true policy now is to try 
 acts of kindness and encouragement, and that the question 
 of rightful control over the property or persons of the Indians 
 beyond the general operation of the laws, being clearly 
 against the whites ; but one consideration remains on which 
 the Legislature can hesitate : the danger, that they will 
 squander their property. Of the improbability of such a re- 
 sult, Mr. Fiske informs you in his report, [page 26.] He 
 found nearly all the families comfortably and decently clad, 
 nearly all occupying framed liouses, and a few dwelling in 
 huts or wigwams. More than thirty of them were in posses- 
 sion of a cow or swine, and many of them tilled a few acrea 
 of land, around their dwellings. Several pairs of oxen, and 
 some horses are owned on the plantation, and the Commons 
 are covered with an excellent growth of wood, of ready ac- 
 10^
 
 114 
 
 C0S3 to market. Confine the cutting of this wood to the na- 
 tives, as they desire, and they never can waste this valuable 
 inheritance. 
 
 Mr. Fiske also says in his report, [page 30,] "that it is 
 liardly possible to find a place more favorable for gaining a 
 subsistence without labor, than Marshpee." The advantages 
 of its location, the resources from the woods and streams, on 
 one side, and the bays and the sea on the other, are accurate- 
 ly described, as being abundant, with the exception of the 
 lobsters, which Mr. Fiske says are found there. The Com^ 
 missioner is incorrect in that particular, unless he adopts the 
 learned theory of Sir Joseph Banks, that Jleas are a species 
 of lobster ! 
 
 Is there, then, any danger in giving the Indians an oppor- 
 tanity to try a liberal experiment for self-government ? They 
 ask you for a grant of the liberties of the constitution ; to 
 be incorporated and to i^ave a government useful to them as 
 a people. 
 
 Tiiey ask for the appointment of magistrates among them, 
 and they ask too for an Attoi'ney to advise with ; but' ray ad- 
 vice to them is, to have as little as possible to do with Attor- 
 nies. A revision of their laws affecting property by the Gov- 
 ernor and Council, would be a much bettor security for them 
 than an Attorney, and this thoy all agree to. Is there any 
 thing unreasonable in their requests ? Can you censaro 
 other States for severity to the Indians within their limits, if 
 you do net exercise an enliglitened liberality toward tli© 
 Indians of Massachusetts ? Give tiiem then substantially, 
 the advantages v/hich they ask in the basis of an act which I 
 n3w submit to tiie Committee vvith their a})provMl of its pro- 
 visions. Cnn you, gentlemen, can the Legislature, resist the 
 simple appeal of their memorial ? "Give us a chance for our 
 lives, in acting for ourselves. O! white man ! wiiite man! 
 th3 blood of our fathers, spilt in the revolutionary war, cries 
 from the ground of our native soil, to break the chains of op» 
 prossijn and let our childreii go free,"
 
 115 
 
 The correctness of Mr. Hallell's opinions are de- 
 monstrated in the followin!; article. 
 
 Other editors speak ill enou2;h of Gen. Jackson's 
 treatment of the Southern Indians. Why do they not 
 also speak ill of all the head men and great chiefs who 
 liave evil entreated the people of Marshpee. 1 think 
 Governor Lincoln manifested as bitter and tyrannical a 
 spirit as Old Hickory ever could, for the life of hiin. 
 Often and often have our tribe been promised the lib- 
 erty their fathers fought, and bled, and died for ; and 
 even now we have but a small share of it. It is some 
 comfort, however, that the people of Massachusetts are 
 becoiiiing gradually more Clnistianized. 
 
 [From the Daily Advocate.] 
 
 THE MARSHPEE INDIANS. 
 - The Daily Advertiser remarks that the Indian tribes have 
 been sacrificed by the policy of Gen. Jackson. This is very 
 true, and we join with the Advertiser in reprehending the 
 course pursued by the President toward the Cherokees. If 
 Georgia, under her union nullifier, Governor Lumpkin, is per- 
 mitted to set the process of the Supreme Court at defiance, 
 it will be a foul dishonor u})on the country. 
 
 But while we condemn the conduct of General Jackson 
 toward the Southern Indians, what shall we say of the treat- 
 ment of our own poor defenceless Indians, the Marshpee 
 tribe, in our own State? The Legislature of last year, with 
 a becoming s?nse of justice, restored to the Marshpee In- 
 dians a portion of their rights, which had been wrested from 
 them, most wrongfully, for a \>Qriod^ of seventy-four year^. 
 The State of Massachusetts, in the exercise of a most unjust 
 and arbitrary povver, had, until that time, deprived the Indi.-ns 
 of all civil rights, and placed their property at the mercy ot 
 designing men, who had oised it for their own benefit, and 
 despoiled the native owners of the soil to which they hold a 
 better title than the whites hold to any land in the Com-
 
 116 
 
 monwealth. These Indians fought and bled side by side, 
 with our fathers, in the struggle for liberty ; but the whites 
 were no sooner free themselves, than they enslaved the poor 
 Indians. 
 
 One single fact will show the devotion of the Marshpee 
 Indians to the cause of liberty, in return for which they and 
 their descendants were placed under a despotic guardianship, 
 and their property wrested from them to enrich the Avhites. 
 In the Secretary's Office, of this State, will be found a mus- 
 ter roll, containing a "Return of men enlisted in the first 
 Regiment of Continental troops, in the County of "Barnstable, 
 for three years and during the war, in Col. Bradford's Regi- dk 
 ment," commencing in 1777. Among these volunteers for 
 that terrible service, are the following names of Marshpee 
 Indians, proprietors of Marshpee, viz. 
 
 Francis Webquish, Samuel Moses, Demps Squibs, Mark 
 Negro, Tom Cassar, Joseph Ashur, James Keeter, Joseph 
 Keeter, Jacob Keeter, Daniel Pocknit, Job Rimmon, George 
 Shawn, Castel Barnet, Joshua Pognit, James Rimmon, David 
 Hatch, James Nocake, Abel Hoswitt, Elisha Keeter, John 
 Pearce, John Mapix, Amos Babcock, Hosea Pognit, Daniel 
 Pocknit, Church Ashur, Gideon Tumpum. 
 
 in all twenty-six men. The whole regiment, drawn from 
 the whole County of Barnstable, mustered but 149 men, near- 
 ly ont-Jifih of Avhom were volunteers from the little Indian 
 Plantation of Marshpee, which then did net contain over one 
 hundred male heads of families ! No white town in the 
 County furnished any thing like this proportion of the 14y 
 volunteers. The Indian soldiers fought through the war ; 
 and as far as we have been able to ascertain the fact, from 
 documents or tradition, all but one, fell martyrs to liberty, in 
 the struggle for Independence. There is but one Indian now 
 living, v/ho receives the reward of his services as a revolu- 
 tionary soldier, old Isaac Wickham, and he was not in Brad- 
 ford's regiment. Parson Holly, in a memorial to the Legisla- 
 ture in 1783, states that most of the women in Marshpee, had 
 lost their husbands in the war. At tbut time there were 
 .seventy widows on the Plantation.
 
 117 
 
 But from that duy, until the year 1834, the Marshpeo In- 
 dians "were enslaved by the laws of Massachusetts, and de- 
 prived of every civil right which belongs to man. Vi^hite 
 Overseers had power to tear their children from them and 
 bind them out where they pleased. They could also sell the 
 services of any adult Indian on the Plantation they chose to 
 call idle, for three years at a time, and send him where they 
 pleased, renewing the lease every three years, and thus, make 
 him a slave for life. 
 
 It was Avith the greatest efibrt this monstrous injustice was 
 in some degree remedied last winter, by getting the facts be- 
 fore the Legislature, in spite of a most determined opposition 
 from those who had fattened for years on the spoils of poor 
 Marshpee. In all but one thing, a reasonable ^aw Avas made 
 for the Indians. That one thing was giving the Governor 
 power to appoint a Commissioner over the Indians for three 
 years. This was protested against by the friends of the In- 
 dians, but in vain ; and they were assured that this appoint- 
 ment would be safe in the hands of the Governor. They 
 hoped so, and assented ; but no sooner was the law passed, 
 than the enemies of the Indians induced the Governor to ap- 
 point as the Commissioner, the person whom of ^il others 
 they least wished to have, a. former Overseer, against whom 
 there were strong prejudices. The Indians remonstrated, and 
 besought, but in vain. The Commissioner was appointed, 
 and to all appeals to make a diifefent appointment, a deaf ear 
 has been turned. It seems as if a deliberate design had been 
 formed somewhere, to defeat all the Legislature has done for 
 the benefit of this oppressed people. 
 
 The consequences have been precisely what the Indians 
 and their friends feared. Party divisions have grown up 
 among them, arising out of the want of confidence in their 
 Commissioner. He is found always on the side of their 
 greatest trouble ; the minister who unjustly holds almost 500 
 acres of the best land in the plantation, wrongfully given to 
 him by an unlaAvful and arbitrary act of the State, which, in 
 violation of the Constitution, appropriates the property of the 
 Indians to pay a man they dislike, for preaching a doctrine
 
 118 
 
 they will not listen to, to a ivhite congregation, while the na- 
 tive preachers, whom the Indians prefer, are left without a 
 cent, and deprived of the Meeting-house, built by English 
 liberality for the use of the Indians. The dissatisfaction has 
 gone on. increasing. The accounts with the former Over- 
 seers remain unadjusted to the satisfaction of the Selectmen. 
 The Indians have no adviser near them in whom they can 
 confide ; those who hold the power, appear regardless of their 
 wishes or their welfare ; no pains is taken by the authorities 
 to punish the wretches who continue to sell rum to those who 
 will buy it; and though the Indians are still struggling to ad- 
 vance in improvement, every obstacle is thrown in their way 
 that men can devise, whose intent it is to get them back to a 
 state of vassalage, that they may get hold of their property. 
 All this, we are satisfied, from personal inspection, is owing 
 to the injudicious appointment made by Gov. Davis, of a com- 
 missioner, and yet the Governor unfortunately seems indispos- 
 ed to listen to any application for a remedy to the existing evils. 
 The presses around us, who are so eloquent in denouncing 
 the President for his conduct towards the Southern Indians, 
 say not a word in behalf of our own Indians, whose fathers 
 poured out their blood for our Independence. Is this right, 
 and ought the Indians to be sacriflt^ed to the advantage ft 
 single man derives from holding an office of very trifling 
 profit ? Let us look at home, before we complain of the 
 treatment of the Indians at the South. 
 
 The following extract refers to the act passed to in- 
 corporate the Marshpee District, after^so much trouble 
 and expense to the Indians. I should suppose the 
 people of Massachusetts would have been glad to have 
 done us this justice, without making so much difficulty, 
 if they had been aware of the true state of facts. 
 
 THE MARSHPEE ACT 
 
 Restoring the rights of self-government, in part, to the 
 Marshpee Indians, of which our legislation has deprived them
 
 119 
 
 for one hnndred and forty years, passed the Senate of Massa- 
 chusetts yesterday, to the honor of that body, without a sin- 
 gle dissenting- vote. Too much praise cannot be given to 
 Mr. Senator Barton, for the persevering and high-minded 
 manner in which he has prepared and sustained this act. 
 With two or three exceptions, but which, perhaps, may Hot 
 be indispensable to the success of the measure, it is all the 
 Indians or their friends should desire, under existing circum- 
 stances. The clause reserving the right of repeal, is proba- 
 bly thie most unfortunate provision in the act, as it may tend 
 to disquiet the Indians, and to give the Commissioner a sort 
 of threatening control, that will add too much to his poWer, 
 and may endanger all the benefits of the seventh section. 
 This provision was not introduced by the Committee, but was 
 opposed by Messrs. Barton and Strong, as wholly unnecessary. 
 
 [Daily Advocate. 
 
 SMALL MATTER. 
 
 In the resolve allowing fees to the Marshpee Indians, who 
 have attended as witnesses this session, the high-minded 
 Senator Hedge of Plymouth, succeeded in excluding the 
 name of William Apes, as it passed the Senate ; but the 
 House, on motion of Col. Thayer, inserted the name of Mr. 
 Apes, allo-wing him his fees, the same as the others. Mr. 
 Hedge made a great effort to induce the Senate to non-con- 
 cur, but even his lucid and liberal eloquence failed of its noble 
 intent, and the Senate concurred by a vote of 13 to 6. Mr. 
 Hedge must be sadly disappointed that he could not have 
 saved the State ^wenty-three dollars, by his manly efforts to 
 injure the character of a poor Indian. Mr. Hedge, wo dare 
 say, is a descendant from the pilgrims, whom the Indians pro- 
 tected at Plymouth Rock ! He knows how to be grateful ! 
 
 [Daily Advocate. 
 
 It appears that I, William Apes, have been mucli 
 persecuted and abused, merely for desiring the welfare 
 of myself and brethren, and because I would not sufier 
 myself to be trodden under foot by jDeople no better
 
 120 
 
 than myself, as I can sec. In connection wlih this, I 
 suy I was never arraigned before any Court, to the in- 
 jcny of my reputaiion, save once, at Marsh pee, for a 
 pretended riot. An attempt to blast a man merely for 
 insisting on his rights, and no more, is n blot on tha 
 character of him who undertakes it, and not upon the 
 person attempted to be injured ; let him be great or 
 small i-n the world's eyes. I can safely say that no 
 charge that has ever been brought against me, written 
 or verbal, has ever been made good by evidence in 
 any civil or ecclesiastical court. Many things have 
 been said to my disparagement in the pubhc prints. 
 Much was said to the General Court, as that I was a 
 gambler in lotteries, and had begged money from tlie 
 Indians to buy tickets with. This calunmy took its rise 
 from certain articles printed in the Boston Gazette, 
 v/ritten, as I have good reason to believe, by one Rey- 
 nolds, a proper authority. He has been an inmate of 
 tlie Slate prison, in Windsor, V ermont, once for a term 
 of tuo years, and again for fourteen, as in pajt appears 
 by the following certificate' of a responsible person. 
 
 Concord, N. H. Juxe 27, 1832. 
 To all whom it may concern. 
 This may certify, that John Reynolds, once an inmate of 
 Vermont State Prison, and since a professed Episcopal Meth- 
 odist, and a;lso a licensed local preaciicr in Windsor, Conn, 
 came to this place about June, 1830, recommended by Brother 
 J. Robbins, as a man worthy of our patronage ; and of course 
 I employed him to supply for me in Ware and Hopkinton, 
 (both in N. H.) in which places he was for a short time, ap- 
 parently useful. But the time shortly arrived when it appear- 
 ed that he wan pursuing' a course that rendered him worthy 
 of censure. I therefore commenced measures to put him
 
 1^1 
 
 down from preaching ; but before I could get fully prepared 
 for him, he was gone out of my reach. I would however ob- 
 serve, he wrote me a line from Portsmouth, enclosing his 
 license, also stating his withdrawal from us ; and thus evaded 
 trial. We have, therefore, never considered him worthy of a 
 place in any Christian church since he left Hopkinton, in 
 May, 1831. And I feel authorized to state, that he does not 
 deserve the confidence of any respectable body of people, 
 K W. STICK XEY, Circuit Preacher, 
 
 In the Methodist Episcopal Church. 
 
 His wrath was enkindled and waxed hot against me, 
 because I thought him scarce honorable enough for a 
 high priest, and could not enter into fellowship \yith 
 him. I opposed his ordination as an elder of our 
 church, because 1 thought it dishonor to sit by his 
 side ; and he therefore tried to make me look as black 
 as himself, by publishing tilings he was enabled to con- 
 coct by the aid of certain of my enemies in New York. 
 They wrote one or two letters derogatory to my char- 
 acter, the sr.bstance of which Reyiiolds took the lib- 
 erty to publish. For this I complained of him to the 
 CJrand Jury in Boston, and he was indicted. The 
 following is the indictment: 
 
 The Jurors for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, on 
 their oath present, that John Reynolds of Boston, Clerk, being 
 a person regardless of the morality, integrity, innocence and 
 piety, which Ministers of the Gospel ought to possess and 
 sustain, and maliciously devising and intending to traduce, 
 vilify and bring into contempt and detestation one William 
 Apes, who was on the day hereinafter mentioned, and still is 
 a resident of Boston aforesaid, and duly elected and appointed 
 a minister of the gospel and missionary, by a certain denom- 
 ination of Christians denominated as belonging to the Metho- 
 dist Protestant Church ; and also u^ia^Tflllly and maliciously 
 11
 
 12S 
 
 intending to insinuate and cause it to be believed, that the 
 said William Apes was a deceiver and impostor, and guilty 
 of crimes and offences, and of buying lottery tickets, and 
 misappropriating monies collected by him from religious per- 
 sons for charitable purposes, and for building a Meeting-house 
 among certain persons called Indians, 
 
 On the thirteenth day of August now last past, at Boston 
 aforesaid, in the County of Suffolk aforesaid, unlawfully, 
 maliciously, and deliberately did compose, print atid publish^ 
 and did cause and procure to be composed, printed and pub- 
 lished in a certain newspaper, called the " Daily Commercial 
 Gazette," of and concerning him the said William Apes, and 
 of and concerning his said profession and business, an unlaw- 
 ful and malicious libel, according to the purport and effect, 
 and in substance as follows, that is to say, containing there- 
 in among other things, the false, malicious, defamatory and 
 libellous words and matter following, of and concerning said 
 William Apes, to wit: convinced at an early period of my 
 (meaning his the said Reynolds) acquaintance with William 
 Apes, (meaning the aforesaid William Apes,) that he (mean- 
 ing said William,) ivas not what he (meaning said William,) 
 professed to he ; but was deceiving and imposing upon the be- 
 nevolent and Christian public, (meaning that said William 
 Apes was a deceiver and impostor,) / (meaning said Rey- 
 nolds,) took all prudent means to have him (meaning said 
 William,) exposed, and stopped in his (meaning said William,) 
 race of guilt, (meaning that said William had been guilty of 
 immorality, dishonesty, irreligion, offences and crimes ;) these 
 men, (meaning one Joseph Snelling and one Norris,) ivert 
 earnestly importuned to investigate his (meaning said William,) 
 conduct, and enforce the discipline (meaning the discipline of 
 the church,) upon him (meaning said William,) for crimes 
 committed since his (meaning said William's) an-ival in this 
 city, (meaning said city of Boston, thereby meaning that said 
 William Apes had been guilty of crimes in said Boston,) 
 though ivell acquainted with facts, which are violently presum- 
 tive of his (meaning said William's) being a deceiver, his 
 (meaning said William's) friends stand by him, (meaning said
 
 123 
 
 William's) and will not give him (meaning said William,) up, 
 though black as hell, (meaning that said William was a de- 
 ceiver, and of a wicked and black character.-) JVhen I am in- 
 formed that ht (meaning said William) is ordained, (meaning 
 as a minister of the gospel,) that he (meaning said William,) 
 is hy permission of the brethren travelling, and permitted to 
 collect money to build the house aforesaid, (meaning the afore-' 
 said Meeting-house,) for his (meaning said William's,) In- 
 dian brethren to ivorship God in, I shudder not so much because 
 he (meaning said William,) is purchasing Lottery Tickets^ 
 (meaning that said William was purchasing Lottery Tickets, 
 and had spent some of the aforesaid money for that purpose,) 
 but because I know of his (meaning said William's) pledge 
 to the citizens of JVew York and elsewhere, to the great 
 injury, scandal, and disgrace of the said William Apes, 
 and against the peace and dignity of the Commonwealtl^ 
 .aforesaid. 
 
 SAMUEL D. PARKER, Attorney of said 
 Commonwealth, within the County of Suffolk, 
 PARKER H. PEIRCE, Foreman of the Grand Jury. 
 A true Copy. — Attest, 
 
 THOMAS W. PHILLIPS, Clerk of the 
 
 Municipal Court of the City of Boston, 
 
 Subsequently, I entered civil actions against two 
 others, for the same offence, and had them held to bail 
 in the sum of fifteen hundred dollars, with sureties. 
 This soon made them feel very sore. They had put 
 it in my power to punish thtun very severely for giv- 
 ing rein to their malignant passions, and they as_ked 
 mercy. I granted it, in order to show them that I 
 wanted nothing but right, and not revenge ; and -that 
 they might know that an Indian's character was as 
 dearly valued by him as theirs by them. Would they 
 ever have thus yielded to an Indian, if they had pot
 
 124 
 
 been compelled ? I presume it will satisfy the world 
 that there was no truth in their stories, to read their 
 confessions, which are as follows : 
 
 Extract from a letter written by David Ayres, to Elder T, F. Norris, 
 dated New Orleans, April 12, 1833. 
 
 "I have arrived here this day, and expected to have found 
 letters here from you, and some of my other brethren re- 
 specting Apes' suit. I never volunteered in this business, but 
 was led into it by others, and it is truly a hard case that I 
 must have all this trouble on their account." 
 
 Extract of a letter written by David Ayers to William Apes, dated 
 Jxily I, 1833. 
 
 " I am, and always have been your friend, and I never ex- 
 pected that any things I wrote about you, would find their 
 way into the public papers. I am for peace, and surely I 
 have had trouble enough. 1 never designed to injure you, 
 and when all were your enemies, I was your warm friend." 
 
 Extract from a Itlter written by G. Thomas to Rev. Thomas F. Norris, 
 dated New York, July 12, 1833. 
 
 "William Apes might by some be said to be an excepted 
 case ; but when this is fairly explained and understood, thi» 
 would not be the fact. My good friends of Boston, and my 
 active little brother Ayres, are to blame fox this, and not me. 
 I had no malice against him, 1 never had done other than 
 wish him well, and done what I hoped would turn out for the 
 best ; but knowing he was liable to error (as) others, and the 
 case being placed in such colors to me, I awoke up ; and be-^ 
 ing pressed to give what I did in detail as I thought, all for 
 the good of the cause and suffering innocence ; but 1 am 
 sorry I ever was troubled at all on the subject; I thought that 
 brother Reynolds was a fine cateh ; but time I acknowledge 
 is a sure tell-tale. And by the by, they have caught me, and 
 eventually, unless Apes will stop proceedings, I must bear all 
 the burthen. Reynolds has got his neck out of the halter, 
 and Ayres is away South, and may never return ; and poor 
 me must be at all the trouble and cost, if even the suit should
 
 125 
 
 'go in my favor. Can I think that Apes will press it ? No. I 
 think he has not lost all human milk out of his breast, and will 
 •dismiss the suit ; and, as to my share of the cost, if I was 
 able, that should be no obstacle. If he will stop it all, if my 
 friends do not settle it, I will agree to, as soon a« I am able." 
 
 I hereby certify, that I have copied the foregoing passages 
 from the letters purporting to be from David Ayres and G. 
 Thomas, respectively, as above mentioned, and that said pas- 
 sages are correct extracts from said letters. . I further cer- 
 tify, that, as the Attorney of said William Apes, I acted for 
 him in the suits brought by him against said Thomas and 
 Ayres for libel, that while said suits were pending, said Apes 
 manifested a forgiving and forbearing disposition, and wished 
 the suits not to be pressed any further than was necessary to 
 show the falsehood of the statements of said Ayres and 
 Thomas, and contradict them; and, that he expressed him- 
 self willing to settle Avith them upon their paying the cost, 
 and acknowledging their error, in consequence of which, by 
 direction from him, after he had perused said letters, I ac-: 
 cordingly discharged both suits, the bail of said Thomas and 
 Ayres paying the costs, which amounted to fifty dollars. 
 
 I further certify, that during my acquaintance with said 
 Apes, which commenced as I think, in March last, I have 
 seen nothing in his character or conduct, to justify the re-^ 
 ports spread about him, by said Thomas and Ayres; but on 
 the contrary, he has appeared to me to be an honest and well 
 disposed man. 
 
 HENRY W. KINSMAN, No. 33, Court Street, 
 
 Boston, J^ovemher 30, 1833. 
 
 I, the subscriber, fully concur in the above statement. 
 JAMES D. YATES, Elder of the 
 
 Methodist Protestant Church. 
 
 The original confession of Reynolds being lost, I 
 trust that the following certificate will satisfy the reader 
 that it has actually had existence. 
 11*
 
 126 
 
 To whom it may concern. 
 This ia to certify that I have repeatedly seen, and in one 
 instance, copied a paper of confession and retraction of Slan- 
 ders, which the writer stated he had uttered, and published 
 in papers of the day, against William Apes, the preacher to 
 the Marshpee tribe of Indians, signed, John Reynolds, and 
 countersigned as witness, by William Parker, Esq. The 
 copy taken of the above mentioned confession by the sub- 
 scriber, was sent to the Rev. T. R. Witsil, Albany, N. Y. 
 THOMAS F. NORRIS, President of the 
 
 Protestant Methodist Conference, Mass. 
 Attest, James D. Yates. 
 Boston, May 7, 1835. 
 
 Nevertheless, lest this should not be sufficient, I am 
 prepared to defend myself by written certificates of 
 my character and standing among the whites and na- 
 tives, (the Pcquod tribe,) in Groton. They are as 
 fo'lows : 
 
 We the undersigned, native Indians of the Pequod tribe, 
 having employed Rev. William Apes as our Agent, to as- 
 sist us, and to collect subscriptions and monies towards erect- 
 ing a house to worship in, do hereby certify, that we are sat- 
 isfied with his agency ; and that we anticipated that he would 
 deduct therefrom, all necessary expenses, for himself and 
 family, during the time he was employed in the agency, as 
 we had no means of making Jiim any other remuneration. 
 By permission, FREDERICK X TOBY, 
 LUCRETIA GEORGE, 
 By permission, MARY X GEORGE, 
 By permission, LUCY X ORCHARD, 
 
 WILLIAM APES, 
 By permission, MARGARET X GEORGE. 
 
 I, Pardon P. Braton of Groton, in the County of New Lon- 
 don, and State of Connecticut, of lawful age, do depose and 
 say, that I was present when the above signers attached their
 
 127 
 
 names to the above certificate, by them subscribed, and am 
 knowing to their having full knowledge of the facts therein 
 contained ; and further the deponent saith not. 
 4 PARDON P. BRATON. 
 
 Grotouy Dec. 3, 1832. 
 
 County of New London, ss. — Groton, Dec. 3, 1832. 
 Personally appeared, Pardon P. Braton, and made solemn 
 oath to the truth of the above deposition, by him subscribed. 
 Before me, 
 
 WILLIAM M. WILLIAMS, Justice of the Peace. 
 
 Groton, Indian Town, Conn. 
 This may certify, that we, the subscribers, native Indiana 
 of the Pequod tribe, do affirm by our signatures to this in- 
 strument, that William Apes, Senior, went by our request as 
 Delegate, in behalf of our tribe, to New York Annual Con- 
 ference, of the Methodist Protestant Church, April 2, 1831. 
 The above done at a meeting of the Pequods, Oct. 6, 1830. 
 WILLIAM APES, Jr. Minister of the Gospel, 
 
 and Missionary to that tribe. 
 As witness our hands, in behalf of our brethren. 
 By permission, MARY ><! GEORGE, 
 By permission, LUCY X ORCHARD, 
 
 WILLIAM APES, 
 By permission, MARGARET X GEORGE. 
 
 I, Pardon P. Braton of Groton, New London County, State 
 of Connecticut, do depose and say, that I am acquainted with 
 the Pequod tribe of Indians empowering William Apes, Sen. 
 as their Delegate to the New York Conference, as is above 
 stated ; and further the deponent saith not. 
 
 PARDON P. BRATON. 
 
 New London County, ss. — Groton, Dec. 3. 1832. 
 Personally appeared. Pardon P. Braton, and made solemn 
 oath to the truth of the above deposition, by him subscribed. 
 Before me, 
 
 WILLIAM M. WILLIAMS, Justice of the Peace,
 
 12S 
 
 To all whom it may concern. 
 This may certify, that we, the undersigners, are acquaint- 
 ed with William Apes and his tribe, of Pequod, and that we 
 live in the neighborhood with them, and know all their pro- 
 ceedings as to their public affairs, and that Mr. Apes, as far 
 as we know, has acted honest and uprightly ; and that he has 
 done his duty to his Indian brethren, as far as he could con- 
 sistently. And that he has duly made known his accounts, 
 and appropriated the monies that was in contemplation for the 
 Indian Meeting-house, for the Pequod tribe; and we also 
 certify that said monies shall be duly appropriated. ^ . 
 
 Dated North Groton, Conn, Aug. 28, 1832. 
 
 JONAS LATHAM, 
 
 ASA A. GORE, 
 
 JOHN IRISH, 
 
 WILLIAM M. WILLIAMS. 
 
 4
 
 AIV IJVQUIRY 
 
 INTO SHE 
 
 EDUCATION AXD RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION 
 
 OF THE 
 
 MARSHPEE INDIANS. 
 
 On the subject of the means taken to educate the 
 Indians, I will say a few words in addition to what has 
 already been said, because we \visli to show that we 
 can be grateful when we have favors bestowed on 
 us. Up to 1835, the State had done nothing for edu- 
 cation in Marshpee, except build us two School-houses 
 in 1831. 
 
 Last winter the subject came up in the Legislature 
 of distributing the School fund of the State among the 
 tow^ns. A bill was reported to the House, in which 
 Marshpee was made a School District, and entitled to 
 receive a dividend according to its population by the 
 United States census. Now this was meant well, and 
 we feel obliged to the Committee wdio thought so much 
 o[ us as this ; but had the law passed in that shape, it 
 would have done us no good, because we have no 
 United States census. The people of Marshpee, nor 
 the Selectmen knew nothing of this law to distribute 
 the School fund, and our pretended missionary, Mr, 
 Fish, never interested himself in such matters; but
 
 130 
 
 our good friend Mr. Hallett, at Boston, thought of us, 
 and laid our claims before the Committee, by two 
 petitions which he got from the Selectmen and from 
 himself, and the Commissioner. We are told that 
 the chairman of the School Committee, Hon. A. H. 
 Everett, took much interest in getting a liberal allow- 
 ance for education in Marshpee. He was once before 
 a warm friend to the Cherokees, and his conduct now 
 proved that he was sincere. He presented the peti- 
 tions and proposed a law which would give us one 
 hundred dollars a year forever, for public Schools in 
 Marshpee, which w^as the largest sum that had been 
 asked for by our friend Mr. H. A number of gen- 
 tlemen spoke in favor of this allowance, and all show- 
 ed that a spirit of kindness as well as justice toward 
 the long oppressed red men, begins to warm the hearts 
 of those who make our laws, and rule over us. We 
 trust we are thankful to God for so turning the hearts 
 of men toward us. 
 
 The Bill passed the House and also the Senate, 
 without any objection, and it is now a law of the State 
 of Massachusetts, that the Marshpee Indians shall 
 have one hundred dollars every year, paid out of the 
 School fund, to help them educate their children. 
 Our proportion as a District, according to what other 
 towns receive, would have been but fifteen dollars. By 
 the aid of our friends, and particularly of our counsel, 
 (Mr. H.) who first proposed it, we shall now receive 
 one hundred dollars a year ; and I trust the Indians 
 will best show their gratitude by the pains they will 
 take to send their children to good schools, and by 
 their raising as much more money as they can, to get
 
 131 
 
 good instriicters ; and give the rising generation all the 
 advantages which the children of the whites enjoy in 
 schooling. This will be one of the best nneans to raise 
 them to an equality, and teach them to put away from 
 their mouths forever, the enemy which the white man, 
 when he wanted to cheat and subdue our race, first got 
 them to put therein, to steal away their brains, well 
 knowing that their lands would follow. 
 
 The following are the petitions presented to the 
 Legislature, w^hich will give some light on the history 
 of Marshpee. 
 
 To the Honorable General Court : 
 
 The undersigned are Selectmen and School Committee of 
 the District of Marshpee. We understand your Honors are 
 going to make a distribution of the School Fund. Now we 
 pray leave to say that the State, as the guardians of the 
 Marshpee Indians, took our property into their possession, so 
 that we could not use a dollar of it, and so held it for sixty 
 years. We could make no contract with a school-master, and 
 during that time, till 1831, we had no school house in Marsh- 
 pee, and scarcely any schools. We began to have schools 
 about five years ago, but still want means to employ compe- 
 tent white teachers to instruct our children. Our fathers 
 often petitioned the Legislature to give them schools, but 
 none were given till 1831, when the State generously built 
 U3 two school-houses. 
 
 We also beg leave to remind your Honors that our fathers 
 shed their blood for liberty, and we their children have had 
 but little benefit from it. When a continental regiment of 
 four hundred men were raised in Barnstable county, in 1777, 
 twenty-seven Marshpee Indians enlisted for the whola war. 
 They fought through the war, and not one survives. After 
 the war our fathers had sixty widows left on the Plantation? 
 whose husbands had died or been slain. We have but one 
 man living who draws a pension, and not a widow. We pray
 
 132 
 
 you,4,herefore, to allow toMarshpee, out of the School Fund, 
 
 a larger amount in proportion than is allowed to other towaa 
 
 and districts who have had better means of education, and to 
 
 allow us a certain sum per year — and as in duty bound, will 
 
 ever pray. 
 
 EZRA ATTAQUIN, ) Selectmen and School 
 ISAAC COOMBS, > Committee of Marsh- 
 iSRAEL AMOS, ) P^e District. 
 
 To the Honorable, the Senate and House of Representatives in Gene- 
 ral Court assembled : 
 
 The undersigned be'g leave to represent in aid of the peti*- 
 lion of the Selectmen and School Committee of the District of 
 Marshpee, praying for a specific appropriation from the School 
 Fund for the support of public schools in said district, that we 
 are acquainted with the facts set forth in said petition, and 
 believe that the cause of education could no where be more 
 promoted in any District in the Commonwealth than by 
 making a specific annual allowance to said Marshpee District, 
 The Legislature have made a specific annual appropriation of 
 fifty dollars to the Indians on Martha's Vineyard for public 
 schools, and the undersigned are of opinion, that an annual 
 appropriation of double that amount, would be no more than a 
 fair relative proportion for the District of Marshpee. It is 
 highly important that the District should be able to employ 
 competent white teachers, until they can find a sufficient 
 number of good teachers among themselves, which cannot be 
 expected until they have enjoyed greater means of education 
 than heretofore. The undersigned therefore pray that the 
 petition of said Selectmen may be granted, by giving a 
 specific annual allowance to said District. 
 
 BENJ. F. HALLETT, Counsel for the Marshpee Indians. 
 
 CHARLES MARSTON, Commissioner of Marshpee. 
 
 Here it v.-jll be seen that the missionary for the In- 
 dians on Martha's Vineyard, did not go to sleep over 
 his flock, or run after others and neglect what ought to 
 be his own fold, as did the missionary, iMr. Fish, whom 
 
 % 
 ^
 
 133 
 
 Harvard College sent to the Marshpees, and pays for 
 preaching to white men. Mr. Bayley, ihe white mis- 
 sionary on the Vineyard, as I understand, took pains to 
 send a petition lo Boston, and he got fifty dollars a 
 year for our hrethren there, of which we are glad. 
 From all we can judge of Mr. Fish, we should have 
 sooner expected that instead of trying to help our 
 schools, he would opposed our getting any thing for 
 schools, as he also opposed our getting our liberty. 
 He has done nothing for us, about our schools, and 
 even tried to set the Indians against their counsel, Mr. 
 Halleit, by pretending he had lost his influence. When 
 Mr. Fish does as much for our liberty, and for our 
 schools, as Mr. Hallett has done, we will listen to his. 
 advice. 
 
 Mr. Bayley, the missionary on [he Vineyard, we 
 understand has but two hundred dollars a year from 
 Harvard College, while Mr. Fish, at Marslipee, has 
 between four and five hundred, and wrongly uses as 
 his own about five hundred acres of the best land on 
 the plantation belonging to the Indians. Tlie Legisla- 
 ture in 1809, took this land from the Indians, without 
 any right to do so, as we think, and thus compel them, 
 against tlie Constitution, to pay out of their property a 
 minister they never will hear preach. Is this religious 
 liberty for the Indians ? Mr. Fish is now cutting per- 
 haps, 200 cords of wood, justly belonging to the In- 
 dians, when there is scarce five who will go and hear 
 him preach in the Meeting-house, erected by the Briiisli 
 Society for propagating the gospel among the Indians, 
 and given to the Indians, but in which Mr. Fish now 
 preaches to the whites, (having but one colored male 
 12
 
 134 
 
 ineinber of his church,") and keeps the key of it, for 
 fear that lis lawful owners, the Indians, shosild go in it, 
 vviihout his leave. He will not let them have it for 
 holding a camp meeting, or for any religious purpose. 
 Last August we invited Mr. Hallett to come and 
 address us on Temperance, and to explain to us the 
 laws. We appointed to meet at the Meeting-house, 
 as the most central place. Mr. Fish -at first refused to 
 let the Indians go into their own i\ieeiirig-house, and 
 r'je people began to assemble under the trees, when it 
 was proposed for the Selectmen to go and ask for the 
 key, that they might see if Mr. Fish would refuse it. 
 At this moment, a white man who had been there some 
 time, and had tried to pick a quarrel with I\lr. Hallett 
 and the Indians, f said he.was sent by Mr. Fish with 
 the key, and would let the people in, if they would 
 promise to come out when he told them to. Mr. Hal- 
 lett declined going in on such terms, and proposed to 
 hold tlie meeting imder the trees. This shamed the 
 juessenger of Mr. Fish, and he opened the door, and 
 the people went in, where Mr. Hallett addressed them. 
 While the Indians were thus gratified in meeting their 
 friends, and in hearing good advice from Mr. Hallett, 
 on temperance and their affairs, Mr. Fish's messenger 
 interrupted the speaker, in a very abrupt and indecent 
 manner, and tried to bring on a quarrel and break up 
 the meeting. Captain George Lovell, always a friend 
 to the !ndirins, tried to keep Mr. Crocker still, and 
 Mr. Hallett declined having any co-Uroversy, yet the 
 man persisted in his abuse, until he broke up the meet- 
 
 *He is not an Indian, nor an original proprietor. 
 fThis was Mr. Alvin Crocker, who had formsrly enjoyed more ben- 
 feSts from the Plaiitatiou, than he does un-lor iba opw law 
 
 * 
 Mt
 
 135 
 
 ing. Had it been thought best, this insulting ambas- 
 sador would have been put out of the house as a com- 
 mon brawler and disturber ; but Mr. Hallett forbore 
 to have any controversy with him. He afterwards 
 met the Indians in their School-houses, and delivered 
 two addresses witijout interruption from the emissaries 
 of Mr. Fish. This is a sample of the way the Indians 
 have been treated about their own Meeiing-house. In 
 some of the old petitions, the Indians speak of this 
 Meeting-house as our ]\Ieeting-house, and it was buiii 
 for them, without a dollar from the white men of this 
 country, except when the Legislature, at the petition 
 of the Indians, repaired it in 1816. And now, no In- 
 dian can go inside of it, but by the permission of Mr. 
 Fish, whom they w-ill not hear preach. 
 
 It seems that the Indians are not to have the benefit 
 of any thing given to them. It must all go to the whites. 
 The whites have our Meeting-house, and make Marsh- 
 pee pay about one-third the sup|)ortof a minister they 
 will not hear preach. The other two-thirds comes 
 from a fund. In 1711, a pious man named Williams^ 
 died in England, and in his will he said, " I give the 
 remainder of my estate to be paid yeaily to the Col- 
 lege of Cambridge, in New England, or to such as are 
 usually employed to manage the blessed work of con- 
 verting the poor Indians there, to promote which, I 
 design this part of my gift." 
 
 This was the trust of a dying man, given to Harvard 
 College, that great and honorable Liteiary Institution. 
 And how do they fulfil the solemn trust ? They have 
 been and still are paying about five hundred dollars a 
 year to a missionary for preaching to the whites. This
 
 136 
 
 missionary, by his own statement, [see Mr. Hallett's 
 argument,] shows lie has added to his church twenty 
 members from the tribe of over three hundred persons, 
 in tiventy-two years. Is not tiiis more expensive in 
 proportion to the good done, than any heathen mission 
 on record ? Mr. Fish lias now been preaching in 
 Marshpee twenty-four years. \n that time he has re- 
 ceived from the Williams fund, given solely to convert 
 the poor Indians, about five lumdred dollars a year, as 
 high as can be ascertained, which is twelve thous- 
 and DOLLARS for persuading twenty colored persons 
 to join his church. This is six hundred dollars for 
 every member added to his church, and if his other 
 pay is added, it amounts to nine hundred dollars for 
 each member. 
 
 Besides this, Mr. Fish has derived an income, we 
 think not much, if any, short of two hundred and fifty 
 dollars a year, from the wood-land, pasturage, marshes, 
 Meeiing-house, house lot, &z.c. which he has wrongfully 
 held and used of the poperty of the Indians. Add 
 this to his pay from Harvard College, and he has had 
 EIGHTEEN THOUSAND DOLLARS, of moncy that be- 
 longed to the Indians, and which, if it had been laid 
 up for a fund, would have supplied missionaries for all 
 the Indians in New England, according to the will of the 
 pious Mr. Williams. We respect the President and 
 Trustees of Harvard College. They are honorable 
 men and mean to do right, but I ask them to look ai 
 this statement, then to read the will of Mr. Williams, 
 and laying their hands upon their heart, to ask in the 
 presence of the God of the Indian as well as the 
 white man, whether they have done unto the Indians
 
 137 
 
 of New England and iheir cliildreOj as they would 
 ihat the Indians should do unto them and their chil- 
 dren ? We are told that we mi^ht bring a suit in 
 equity, or in some w^ay, to compel the Trustees of the 
 Williams fund, to distribute it as the pious donor meant, 
 not for the conversion of the whites, even to the taking 
 away from the Indians of their Meeting-house and 
 lands, but for " the blessed work of converting the 
 poor Indians," as Mr. Williams says in his will. 
 
 But it is hard for Indians to contend in the courts of 
 white men, against white men. We can liave none of 
 our people to decide such questions, and wliat could 
 we do against all the power and influence of the Cor- 
 poration of Harvard College ? If the President and 
 Fellows of riar\ard College prefer to deal unjustly by 
 the poor Indians, and violate the trust of ^Ir. Williams, 
 by giving the funds to the whites instead of the poor 
 Indians, they must submit to the wrong, we suppose, 
 for there are none strong enough to help them. They 
 can take the money from the Indians, but cannot com- 
 pel them to hear a preacher they dislike. 
 
 Some people may say that William Apes wants to 
 get what Mr. Fish has, but all he asks is, that Harvard 
 College and the State will not support an established 
 religion in Marshpee, but leave the Indians free to 
 choose for themselves. Mr. Williams did not give his 
 property to the Marshpee Indians, mere than to any 
 others. It was designed for all the Indians in New 
 England, and we cannot see what right Harvard College 
 has to give it all for the whites neai: Marshpee and the 
 Indians on Martiia's Vineyard. If they are afraid that 
 blind Joseph or William Apes, the Indian preachers, 
 1^*
 
 1^8 
 
 should have any of this money, if it is withdrawn from 
 Mr. Fish, let them take it, and send a missionary ainong 
 the Marshpee Indians they like. Or let them employ 
 a rnan, some Elliot, if they can find one, to visit all 
 the Indians in New England, to find out their condi- 
 tion and spiritual wants, and try to relieve them. This 
 would be doing some good with money that is now only 
 used to disturb the Indians, to take from them their 
 Meeting-house, to create divisions among them, and 
 turn what the pious Williams meant for a blessing into 
 a curse to the Indians. What would the pious Williams 
 say to Harvard College, could he visit Marshpee on a 
 Sabbath ? He miirht sro to the Meetin2;-House built 
 for the Indians, by the society in England, of which I 
 believe he was a principal member. He would find a 
 white man in the pulpit, v.hiie singers leading the wor- 
 ship, and the body of the church occui)ied by seventy 
 or a hundred while persons, of the neighboring villa- 
 ges, scarcely one of whom lives on the plantation. 
 Among these he would see four, five, six, or possibly 
 ten persons with colored skins ; not but one male among 
 them belonging to the church. He would probably 
 think he had made a mistake, and that he was in a 
 white town, and not among the Indians. He might 
 then go to the house of blind Joseph, (the colored 
 Baptist preacher.) or to the School-house in Marshpee, 
 and he would there find twenty, thirty, or forty Indians, 
 all engaged in the solemn worship of God, united and 
 happy, with a little church, growing in grace. He 
 might then visit the other School-house, at the neck, 
 where he would find William Apes, an Indian, preach- 
 ing to fifty, sixty, or seventy, and sonieiimes an hun-
 
 139 
 
 dred Indians, all uniting in fervent devotion. After 
 the sermon, he would liear a word of exhortation from 
 several of the colored brethren and sisters, in their 
 broken way, but which often touches the heart of the 
 Indian, more than all the learning that Harvard Col- 
 lege can bestow. He would hear the Indians singing 
 praises to God, and making; melody in their hearts if 
 not in their voices. What would he say then, when 
 told that Harvard College had paid twelve thousand 
 dollars of his funds for converting the poor Indians, to 
 the while minister, who had made twenty membersin 
 twenty-four years, while the two Indian preachers, 
 with forty-seven members to I heir churches, added in 
 three years, were like St. Paul, laboring with their own 
 hands for a subsistence ? 
 
 All the Indians ask of Harvard is, take away your 
 pretended gift. Do not force upon us a minister we 
 do not like, and who creates divisions among us. Let 
 us have our .Meeting-house and our land, and we will 
 be content to worship God without the help of the 
 white man. 
 
 This Meeting-house might as well be in India as in 
 Marsh pee, for all the benefit the Indians have of it. 
 It is kept locked all the time, with the key in Mr. 
 Fish's possession. It is seen that he would not let 
 the Baptist church of Indians have it to ordain their 
 beloved pastor, blind Joseph in, and we see how it 
 was granted to the Indians, when they wanted it for 
 Mr. Halletl to address them last summer. Not only 
 were we forbidden the use of the Meeting-house, but 
 even the land which the Legislature unconstitutionally 
 as we think, took from the Indians to give to Mr. Fish,
 
 140 
 
 is considered by liim loo holy to be defiled by the In- 
 dians, who are its true owners. 
 
 Last summer, sometime in July, tny church desired 
 to have a Camp-meeiinii, of which we had had one be- 
 fore, attended, as we believe, with a great blessing. We 
 selected a spot some distance from the Meeting-house, 
 in a grove, beside the river; but though not in sight of 
 the Meeting-house, it was on tlie ground which Mr. 
 Fish thinks has been set apart for his sole use. After 
 the notice was given of the Camp-meeting, I received 
 from Mr. Fish the following note, which is here re- 
 corded, as an evidence of the Christian spirit with 
 which a church in Marshpee. consisting of thirty-five 
 members, who were Indians, was treated and molested 
 in their worship, by the missionary Harvard College 
 has paid so liberally to "convert the poor Indians," 
 and who had but five Indians in his church, not ojnti 
 being a male member. 
 
 Marshpee, July 19, 1834. 
 Mr. Wm. Apes, 
 
 Sir, — Perceiving by a notice in the "Barn- 
 stable Journal," of last week, that you have appointed a 
 Cainp-meeting-, to commence on the 3Cth inst. and to be hoi- 
 den on the Parsonage, and in the vicinity of the Meeting- 
 house, 
 
 This is to forbid the proceeding altogether I 
 You have no pretence for such a measure ; and if yon per- 
 sist in your purpose to hold such Meeting, either near the 
 Meeting-house, or on anij part of the Parsonage allotment, you 
 must consider yourself responsible for the consequences. 
 
 I am &c. 
 
 PHINEAS FISH. 
 Rev. WiLLiAii Apes.
 
 141 
 
 Soon after this, the Selectmen, one of whom was a 
 member of my chiirch, applied to Mr. Fish respecting 
 holding the Camp-meeling on the parsonage. The 
 place selected could not have disturbed Mr. Fish, any 
 more than people passim^ in carriages in the main road. 
 We had no Meeting-house, our School-houses would 
 not hold the people, and we had no other means but 
 to erect our tents and worship God in the open air. 
 A pious family of whites from JNantucket, came on 
 the ground, and began erecting their tent. Mr. Fish 
 came there in person and ordered them off.' The man 
 told him that he had his family there, and had no other 
 shelter for the night but his tent, wdiich he should not 
 remove, but would do so the next day, if he found 
 that he was trespassirig on any man's rights. But he 
 added, if Mr. Fish turned liim off, he would publish 
 his conduct to the world. Mr. Fish's interference to 
 break up our religious meeting, created much talk, and 
 finally he wrote the following letter to the Selectmen ; 
 after which we went on and had our meeting, in a 
 quiet, orderly and peaceful manner, and we believe it 
 was a season of grace, in which the Lord blessed us. 
 
 To the Selectmen of Marshpee. 
 
 On mature thought, and in compliance witli your particular 
 request, I consent to your holding the Camp-meeting, which 
 is this day commenced, on the spot near the river, where the 
 first tent was erected. I consent, (I say,) on the following 
 conditions, viz : That you undertake that no damage corae 
 upon the parsonage property, either wood land, or Meeting- 
 house ; that no attempt be made to occupy the Meeting- 
 house ; that there be no attempt on the Sabbath, or any other 
 day, to interrupt the customary worship at the Meeting-house,
 
 142 
 
 and, that peace, order, and quietude be maintained during the 
 time of the Camp-meeting. It is also distinctly understood, 
 that this license is of special favor, and not conceded as your 
 right, and no way to be taken as a ground for similar requests 
 in future, or for encouraging any future acts of annoyance, 
 vexation, or infringement of the quiet possession of the priv- 
 ileges, secured to me by the Laivs. And that should any 
 damage be done in any way as aforesaid, you will consider 
 yourselves responsible to the proper authorities. 
 
 With my best wishes for your welfare, your friend, 
 
 PlilNEAS FISH. 
 Marshpee, July 30, 1834. 
 
 The reader may now ask, how came IMr. Fish in 
 possession of this property, wliich he claims to liold by 
 the Laws ? I am at liberty to publish here, the follow- 
 ing views of the law and the facts in th.e case, drawn up 
 by legal counsel whom the Selectmen have consulted. 
 And here i take my leave. 
 
 OPINION AS TO THE TITLE REV. PHINEAS FISH 
 HAS TO THE PARSONAGE, SO CALLED, IN 
 MARSHPEE. 
 
 The first act of the General Court which interfered 
 with the right of the Indians to sell their own lands, all 
 of whicii lliey owned in common in Marshpee Planta- 
 tion, (including what is now called the parsonage,) was 
 in 1650, which provides that no person shall buy land 
 of any Indian without license of the General Court. 
 In 1605, this was extended to grants for term of years. 
 In iGOo, the Indians were put under guardianship. 
 
 In 1701, an Act was passed specially to protect the 
 Indians in the enjoyment of their lands. [Col. Laws, 
 page J 50.] It also shows why the restriction in the 
 sale of tlieir lands was adopted.
 
 143 
 
 " Whereas, the government of the late Colonies of the 
 Massachusetts Bay and New Plymouth, to the intent the na- 
 tive Indians mi^ht not be injured or defeated of their just 
 rights and possessions, or be imposed on and abused in selling 
 and disposing of their lands, and thereby deprive themselves 
 of such places as were suitable for their settlement", did in- 
 Iiibit the purchase of land without consent of the General 
 Court, notwithstanding which, sundry persons have made pur- 
 chases, &c. ; therefore, all such purchases of lands were va- 
 cated, with the exception of towns, or persons who had ob- 
 tained lands from the Indians, and also by virtue of a grant 
 or title made or derived by or from the General Court. All 
 leases of land from Indians for any term or terms of years to 
 be void, unless license was obtained for such lease from the 
 County Court of Sessions. Provided^ nevertheless, that noth- 
 ing in this act shall be held or deemed in any wise to hinder, 
 defeat or make void any bargain, sale or lease of land, mad© 
 by an Indian to another Indian or Indians. 
 
 1718. This is the first act which took from the Indiana 
 their civil capacity to make contracts. It says, " whereas, 
 notwithstanding the care taken and provided (by the former 
 act,) a great wrong and injury happens to said Indians, na- 
 tives of this country, by reason of their being drawn in by 
 small gifts, or small debts, when they are in drink, and out of 
 capacity to trade, to sign unreasonable bills or bonds for debts 
 which are soon sued, and great charge brought upon them, 
 when they have no way to pay the same, but by servitude"; 
 therefore no contract whatever shall be recovered against any 
 Indian native, unless entered into before two Justices of the 
 Peace in the County, both to be present when the contract Ik 
 executed by the Indian. 
 
 The act of 1725, recognizes the rli^hts of Indians to 
 employ persons to build houses on tlieir own lands. 
 Their own lands then were the commons, including the 
 parsonage.
 
 144 
 
 In 1763, Marshpee was incorporated as a District, 
 including the land now called the parsonage. " Be ii 
 enacted, he. that all the lands belonging to the In- 
 dians and mulattos in Mashpee be erected into a dis- 
 trict, by the name of Mashpee." The Proprietors 
 are empowered to meet " in the public meeting 
 HOUSE," [the one now claimed by Mr. Fish,] to elect 
 a Moderator, five Overseers, two to be Englishmen, a 
 town Clerk and Treasurer, being Englishmen, two 
 Wardens, and one or more Constables. The majori- 
 ty of the Overseers had the sole power to regulate the 
 fishery, to lease such lands and fisheries as are held in 
 common, not exceeding for two years, and to allot to 
 the Indians their upland and meadows. This act was 
 to continue for three years and no longer. It does not 
 appear ever to have been revived. The revolutiona- 
 ary war intervened, and there is no act after 1766, 
 until the act of 1788, after tlie revolutionary war, 
 which last act put the Indians and their lands under 
 strict guardianship. 
 
 In this interval between 1766 and 17S8, the only 
 transaction on which Mr. Fish can found any claim to 
 the parsonage took place. There was then either no 
 law existing, which could empower any person to se- 
 quester and set apart the lands of the Indians, or the 
 law of 1693, (if that of 1763 had expired,) was re- 
 vived, by which tha guardianship again attached to 
 the Indians. The Indians, it is believed, continued to 
 choose their own Overseers, under the charter of 1763,. 
 after it had expired, and without any authority to do 
 so. It was the only government they had during the 
 troubles of the revolution. 
 
 » •
 
 145 
 
 We now come to the first evidence of any thing re- 
 lating to the parsonage land heins; set ap;nt from the 
 common land. This was in 178?, and the following 
 is the Deed from the Records of Biirnstahle County, 
 and the only deed relating lo this properly. 
 
 DEED OF MARSHPEE PARSONAGE. 
 
 Know all Men hj these Presents, That we, Lot Nye, Mat- 
 thias Amos, Moses Pognet, Selectmen, and Israel Halfday, 
 Joseph Amos and Eben Dives, of the district of Marshpee, 
 /or the support of the Gospel iii said Marshpee in all future gen-^ 
 erations, according to the discipline and worship of the Church 
 in this place^ which is Congregational^ do allot, lay out, and 
 sequester forever, a certain tract of land, being- four hundred 
 acres more or less, lying within the Plantation of Marshpee, 
 and being Indian property, whicli is to lay as a parsorage for- 
 ever and to be improved and used for th^ sole purpose aforesaid; 
 and tlie said tract or parcel of land for the said Parsonage, is 
 situated on the East side of Marshpee river, and bounded as 
 follows, viz: Beginninij at' a certain spring of fresh water 
 which issues from the head a small laggoon on the East side 
 of Marshpee river aforesaid, and runs into said river a small 
 distance below, and South of the spot where negro Scipio 
 and his wife Jemimai liad their house, which is now removed, 
 and from thence running due East into the land until it comes 
 to the great road which leads into Marshpee Neck, so called 
 and from thence Northwardly bearing Eastward as the said 
 road runs, until it comes to the great road, which is the com- 
 mon road from Barnstable to Falmouth, and then bounded by 
 the last mentioned road Northwardly, and running Westward- 
 ly until it comes to Ashir's road, then crossing Falmouth road 
 and running in Ashir's path till it comes to Marshpee river 
 aforesaid, and then upon the said river Southwardly, and 
 on the East side, until it comes to the first station, leaving 
 Quokin, and Phillis his wife, quiet in their possessions • 
 which tract of land, (except Mary Richards' fields and plan- 
 tation,) which is within the said boundaries, and wood for 
 13 
 
 ^m
 
 146 
 
 Mary's own use, and fencing stuff for her fences as they now 
 stand, with all the appurtinances and privileges thereunto be^ 
 longing, shall be forever for the important purpose of propa- 
 gating the Gospel in Marshpee, without any let, hindrance or 
 molestation. In confirmation whereof, we have hereunto set 
 our hands and seals, this seventh day of January, one thous- 
 and seven hundred and eighty-three. 1783. 
 LOT NYE, - 
 
 MATTHIAS ><! AMOS, his mark. 
 MOSES X POGNET, 
 N. B. Before the insealing the premises, reserve was made 
 by the signe-rs of this instrument, for the heirs of Mary Rich- 
 ards, that they forever be allowed her in her life time, and 
 Abraham Natumpum and his heirs, be allowed severally to 
 enjoy and possess Scipio's cleared spot of land, and fencing 
 stuff for the same. 
 
 ISRAEL X HALFDAY, his mark. 
 JOSEPH X AMOS, 
 EBEN X DIVES, 
 
 T • r? Gideon IIawlet, 
 
 In possession of ^g,^^^ Fish. 
 
 Received November 10, 1800, and is recorded in the 25th' 
 Book of Records, for the County of Barnstable, folio 139, and 
 compared. 
 
 Attest, EBENEZER BACON, Register, 
 
 Lot Nye was a white man, a great Indian specula- 
 tor. The other five were Indians, two calling them- 
 selves Selectmen. iNow what power had these men 
 in 1783, to sequester four hundred acres of the com- 
 mon land of the Indians, for any purpose 1 If they 
 were Selectmen, and had any power, that power was 
 expressly limited hy the act of 1763, to leasing lands 
 for a term not exceeding two years. Here they un- 
 dertook to make a perpetual grant, a sort of dedica- 
 tion of the property to a certain purpose. If they 
 could dispose of one acre so, they mighi with equal
 
 147 
 
 propriety, have disposed of the whole Plantation. The 
 Indians were all tenants in common, and no dedication 
 or transfer of the common land could be made, with- 
 out a legal partition, or tlie consent of every individual 
 tenant. If the pretended Selectmen acted for the In- 
 dians, they could only do so by power of attorney to 
 act for all, the tenants in common. There is no other 
 possible legal way, by which land, the fee of which 
 is owned by tenants in common, can be transferred, 
 either in fee or in occupancy out of their possession for- 
 ever. But besides, no act of the Indians was then valid 
 unless confirmed by the General Court. This deed, 
 therefore, of 1783, was void at the time. It seems 
 nothing was done with it, until 1800, seventeen years 
 after, when it was recorded in the Barnstable County 
 Registry of Deeds, at whose instigation does not ap» 
 pear. Now in 1800, when this deed was recorded, 
 the Indians were legally minors, and could do no act, 
 and make no contract. All the power their Select- 
 men had in 1783, was taken away. They were un- 
 der five Overseers, who had power to improve and 
 lease the lands of the Indians and their tenements, but 
 no power to sell, sequester or dedicate any part of them. 
 The Overseers had no power to take a dollar from the 
 Indians, for religious worship. While this was the 
 condition of the Indians under the law of 1789, (which 
 continued in full force, with an additional act in 1819, 
 till the new law of 1834,) the deed was recorded in 
 1800, seventeen years after it was made by persons 
 who had no power at all to make such a deed. The 
 professed object was to set apart 400 acres, of the 
 ^mmon land, lying in Marshpee, " and being Indian
 
 14S 
 
 property y^ for a parsonage, forever. The clear title then 
 was in the liidinris as tenams in common, for the deed 
 so declares it, in 1783. The pnrsonai^e was theirprop- 
 erty then. How has it ever heen conveyed out of 
 their hands? Hie j)nrpose for which this land was 
 to be used, as secpiesiered hy Lot Nye, &z,c. was for 
 the sole purpose aloresaid, viz. " For the support of 
 the Gospel in Maishpee in allfuture generations, ac- 
 cording to the discipline and worship of the Church 
 in this place, winch is Congregational." And this 
 property, says the (\ee^, " shall be forever for the im- 
 portant purpose of propigaiing tlie gospel in Marshpee, 
 without any let, hindrance or molestation." 
 
 This, tlien w^as the design of the original sigaers of 
 this deed, who had no right lo sign such a deed at all. 
 Their object was lo promote the gospel in Marshpee, 
 but how has it turned out ? Tlie property has been used 
 for twenty-four years, to pay a minister wlio preatlres 
 to the whites, and whom the Indians with very few ex- 
 ceptions, will not hear. Is not this a gross perversion 
 of the design of the donors, even if they had any 
 power to have made this grant I No lawyer will pre- 
 tend that the grant wiis not void, under this deed alone. 
 There was no grantee, no legal consideration, and no 
 power to convey. The deed remained on record, until 
 1809, when the following act wts p.issed by the Legisla- 
 ture, attempting to confirm a deed made 26 years be- 
 fore, by men who had no power to make such deed. 
 
 Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 
 
 House of Representatives^ June 15, 1809. 
 On the representation of the Overseers of the Indian Plan- 
 tation of Marshpee, in the County of Barnstable, stating in
 
 149 
 
 behalf of said Indians, that it would be conducive to their in- 
 terests, that a certain grant and allotment of lands therein de- 
 scribed, formtrlij owned by said Indians, for the support of 
 the gospel ministry among them, should be confirmed and 
 rendered valid. 
 
 Resolved, That a certain gr»nt or allotment of land made 
 by Lot Nye, Matthias Amos, Moses Pognet, Isaac Halfdayj 
 Joseph Amos, and Eben Dives, of the District of Marshpee, 
 in the County of Barnstable, as appears by their deed by them, 
 and by them signed, sealed and executed, on the seventh day 
 of January, one tliousand seven hundred and eighty-three, and 
 recorded in the Registry of Deeds, in and for said County of 
 Barnstable, in the fifty -fiftJi book thereof, and I'SV'ih folio of 
 said book, said land being 400 acres more or less, according 
 to said deed, be and the same hereby is confirmed and ren- 
 dered valid to all intents and purposes by them in their said 
 deed expressed, and the said tract of land shall be and remain 
 forever as a parsonage, for the use and benefit of a Congrega- 
 tional gospel minister, as expressed and declared in their said 
 «leed. Sent up for concurrence. 
 
 TIMOTHY BIGELOW, Speaker. 
 
 In Senate, June 19, 1809, 
 
 Read and concurred. 
 
 n. G. OTIS, President, 
 June 19, 1809, Approved, C. GORE. 
 
 [True Copy.] 
 
 Now, if the deed was not valid in 1783, without 
 the concurrent action of the General Court, it could 
 not be niade valid by an act of the General Court. 
 26 years afterwards. Besides, the land had been 
 in possession of the Indians, by virtue of their title, 
 more than twenty years, after the making of the pre- 
 tended deed. The power of the grantors, if lljey.ever 
 had any power, had long expired, and Marshpee was 
 governed by new laws. We might as well hold that 
 13*
 
 150 
 
 an act passed by the House of Representatives in 
 1783, could be made valid by a concurrence of the 
 Senate, in 1609. 
 
 It is plain, therefore, that unless the General Court 
 liad power without the consent of the Indians, to se- 
 quester this land in 1809, the setting of it apart from 
 the common land, is wholly void, and an act of mere 
 arbitrary power. But the general Court never assum- 
 ed the power to convey any land for any purpose, be- 
 longing to the Indians without their consent. Where 
 and hou' was their consent given to this act of 1809? 
 They were minors in law, and could give no such con- 
 sent. Their Overseers could give none for them, for 
 their power only extended to alloting laws to the In- 
 dians, and leasing them. The pretence, therefore, 
 that this was done at the request of the Overseers, - 
 gives no strength to the act. 
 
 Let another fact be remarked. The original seques- 
 tration in 1783, was to promote the gospel in Marsh- 
 pee. The General Court profess to confirm and ren- 
 der valid the deed of Lot Nye and others, but they 
 say that this four hundred acres " shall remain forever 
 as a parsonage for the use and benefit of a Congrega- 
 tional gospel minister, as expressed in their said deed.'* 
 
 Now no such thing is expressed in their deed. 
 There is not a word about a Congregational minister ; 
 only " for the support of the gospel, according to the 
 discipline and worship of the church in this place, 
 which is Congregational." 
 
 The General Court, therefore, gave a construction 
 to the deed, which the deed never warranted. The 
 whole proceeding must be illegal and void. The fee
 
 151 
 
 still remains in the Tndiansj and no power existed to 
 take it from them without their whole consent as ten- 
 ants in common, which they have never given, and 
 could not give, because they were in law minors. Mr. 
 Fish was sent to Marshpee as a minister, and ordained 
 in 1811. The Indians, as a society, never invited him 
 to come, or settled him. They never gave him posses- 
 sion of the land or Meeting-house. They were then 
 minors in law, and could give no consent. The white 
 Overseers and Harvard College, were the only powers 
 that undertook to give Mr. Fish possession of the 
 property of the Indians-. It is true, he has held it 
 twenty years, but the statute of quiet possession does 
 not run against minors. The Indians were declared 
 minors, and could bring no action in court. 
 
 This is the true history of the parsonage and Meet- 
 ing-house now wrongfully held by Mr. Fish. Have 
 not the Indians a right to their own property ] Has 
 the Legislature and Harvard College, a right to estab- 
 lish a religion by law in Marshpee, and take the prop- 
 erty of the Indians to support a minister they will not 
 hear ? Where did the General Court get any power 
 to give away the property of the Indians, any more 
 than the lands of white men, held in common ? They 
 cannot take the properly of the Indians to support a pri- 
 vate individual. Was it then a public use ? But the 
 Constitution says " no part of the property of any in- 
 dividual, can with justice be taken from him, or appli- 
 ed to public uses, without his own consent, or that of 
 the representative body of the people, and whenever 
 the public exigencies require that the property of any 
 individual should be appropriated to public uses, he
 
 \5'Z 
 
 shall receive a reasonable compensation therefor." 
 Apply this to the act of the General Court, by which 
 Mr. Fish holds four hundred acres of the connnon 
 lands of the Indians, against their consent, and for 
 which they never received a dollar, and answer. Is not 
 ihe Constitution violated, every day he is suffered to 
 remain on the plantation, against their consent, sub- 
 sisting on the properly of the poor Indians, not to ben- 
 efit them, but to preach to the whites? 
 
 Look at this subject also, in connexion with religious 
 freedom. The old ailicle of the Consiilulion, gave 
 the Legislature power to require the towns to provide 
 for public worship at their own expense, where tliey 
 neglected to make such provisions themselves ; but it 
 also provided that the towns, &ic. "shall at all times 
 have the exclusive right of electing their public teachers, 
 and of contracting with them for their support and 
 maintenance." 
 
 This right the Indians have never had in regard 
 to Mr. Fish, nor did they neglect to sujiport wor- 
 ship, and if tliey did, the Legislature had no power 
 to take their property and set it apart, but njight im- 
 pose a tax or a fine. 
 
 But what says the amended article on this subject 
 of religious freedom 1 " The several religious societies 
 of this Commonwealth, (the ludian as well as thti 
 while nian.) wiieiher corporate or unincoiporate, shall 
 ever have the right to elect their pastors or religious 
 teachers, to contract with them for their suppoit, to 
 raise money for the erecting and repairing houses of 
 public worship, for the maintenance of religious in- 
 struction, and all religions sects and denominations, de-
 
 153 
 
 meaning themselves peaceably, and as good ciiizens, 
 shall be equally under the prelection of the law." 
 
 Are the Indians at Marshpee, protected in the same 
 manner ihe whiles are, in their re!iii,ious freedom 1 The 
 Indians tliink not, and with good reason ; and yet they 
 cannot get redress. They have warned Mr. Fish lo 
 leave their property ; they have dismissed him as their 
 minister, if he ever were such, and liave forbidden his 
 using their Meeting liouse, or carrying off their wood. 
 But he persists in holding and using their property, as 
 they say wrongfully, and even piohibils their havi ig a 
 religious meeting in the woods, without his consent. 
 He is, it is stated-, at this time employing men to cut 
 and cart wood off the plantation, for his support, and 
 it is supposed he will thus take of the projieity really 
 belonging to the Indians^ about two hundred cords of 
 wood the present year. 
 
 iSlovv if this land belongs in common to the Marsh- 
 pee Indians, as they contend it does, Mr. Fish find the 
 white men he employs, (and it is understood he em* 
 ploys no others.) violate the law of 1834, and are lia- 
 ble to indietmenl. That law says, '' that no person 
 other than proprietors or inhabitants of said Dstiict, 
 shall ever cut wood [upon the common lands,] or 
 transport the same therefrom. And every p^^rson of- 
 fending against this provision, shall be liable lo indict- 
 ment therefor, and upon conviction, shall pay a fine of 
 not less ihan fifty, nor more than one hundred dollars, 
 to the uce of said District.'* In this mode, by indict- 
 ing the white men employed by Mr. Fish, to cut and 
 carry off wood, the question could be tried, which is 
 simply whether the fee of the parsonage is in the In-.
 
 154 
 
 dians, or whether it is in Mr. Fish, who never had any 
 deed of it in any way. The parsonage was common 
 land in 1783. Has it been legally changed since in its 
 title, is the question. But even in this matter, as we 
 are informed, the courts of justice which are open to 
 white men, are closed to the poor Indians. At the 
 last session of the court in Barnstable, the Selectmen 
 of Marshpee complained against the white men em- 
 ployed by Mr. Fish, for cutting wood on their com- 
 mon lands. The District Attorney on ascertaining 
 that the wood was taken from the parsonage, so call- 
 ed, undertook to decide the whole question, before it 
 went to the court, as it is stated to us, and without any 
 examination as to Mr. Fish's title, refused to act upon 
 the complaint. Had the indictment been found, the 
 question could have gone to ihe Supreme Court, and 
 been there settled. The Indians now must either sub- 
 mit to be wronged until some prosecuting officer wiit 
 hear their complaints, or they must apply for an in- 
 junction, to stop Mr. Fish cutting any more of their 
 wood. These are believed to be substantially the facts 
 and the law, in this case. They are left with a can- 
 did public to consider, and to form their opinion on, if 
 they cannot be shown to be unfounded. 
 
 It should be understood that the Committee who re- 
 ported the act of 1834, giving the new law to the In-^ 
 dians, did not decide any question touching the par- 
 sonage. They treated all the plantation as lands own- 
 ed in common. It has been said that the Chairman of 
 the Committee, Mr. Barton, had given an opinion that 
 Mr. Fish was entitled to hold the property. This 
 is incorrect. To obviate such an impression, Mr.
 
 155 
 
 Hallett, the counsel for the Indians, wrote to Mr. Bar- 
 ton, and received the following reply, which will fully 
 explain the position in which the question was left by 
 the Legislature. In the views expressed by Mr. Barton, 
 Mr. Hallett fully concurs. Too much praise cannot 
 be given to Mr. Barton for the zeal, patience and abil- 
 ity with which he discharged the duties of Chairman 
 of the Committee. 
 
 Worcester, July 1, 18S4* 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 I last evening received your favor of the 28th ultv 
 The Committee of the Legislature, who had in cliarge the 
 Marshpee business, intentionally avoided expressing any opin- 
 ion in regard to the tenure by which Mr. Fish held the par- 
 sonage. In our report we merely adverted to the facts, that in 
 1783, Lot Nye, and several Indians granted 400 acres of the 
 common land, "to be forever for the important purpose of prop- 
 agating the Gospel in Marshpee." There were no grantees 
 named in the deed. In 1809, the General Court confirmed 
 this grant of a parsonage, to be held forever for a Congrega- 
 tional Gospel Minister." We found Mr. Fish in possession 
 of the parsonage, as such a minister. But whether by virtue 
 of said grant, and his settlement at Marshpee he could hold 
 the parsonage, as a sole corporation, we regarded it as a ques- 
 tion of purely a judicial character, and one with which it was 
 '^ not expedient, ^^ and might we not have tLdded propei-, "for 
 the Legislature to interfere." [f Mr. Fish has rights under 
 these grants, and by virtue of his settlement, I know you will 
 agree with me, that the Legislature can do nothing to divest 
 him of them. And if he had no such right, we were not dis- 
 posed to create them. I am entirely satisfied with the course 
 which the Committee took in relation to the parsonage ; and 
 the circumstance that questions are now agitated in relation to 
 it, show that in one particular, at least, the Committee acted 
 judiciously. We left the parsonage precisely as we found it; 
 Usaring to another branch of the government the appropriate
 
 156 
 
 responsibility of settling all questions growing out of the 
 grant of 1783, the confirmation of 1809, and tlie settlement 
 of Mr. Fioli. Could we by legislation settle those questions, 
 it might have been our duty to do so, for the sake of the har- 
 mony of the District. But it seems to me that any such at- 
 tempt would have had a tendency to create new difficulties, 
 rather than to diminish old ones. 
 
 A word in regard to my advice to Mr. Fish. I received a 
 letter from Mr. Fish some time since, in which he expressed 
 soma apprehensions that an attempt would be made by the 
 natives to take possession of the Meeting-house, parsonage, 
 &.C. His letter enclosed rather a singular communication, 
 signed by the Selectmen of Marshpee. I did not keep a copy 
 of my answer to Mr. Fish, but recollect distinctly the sub- 
 stance of it. I alluded to the authority of the Legislature in 
 the premises as I have above. That they intended to leave 
 the parsonage as they found- it, without undertakmg to limit 
 or modify the effect of former acts. That the appropriate 
 mode for the natives to ascertain their rights to, or to obtain 
 possession of, the parsonage, &c. was by resorting to the 
 courts. That any forcible attempt by single individuals to 
 obtain possession of the Meeting-house, Slc. would be a tres- 
 pass ; that if numbers combined for that purpose, it would 
 constitute a riot. I take it I hazarded no professional reputa- 
 tion by giving these opinions. For you very well know, that 
 they would be correct, Mr. Fish being in peaceable posses- 
 sion of the premises, whether he were so by seisin or disse- 
 isin, by right or by wrong. I hope, my dear sir, that our ex- 
 periment in regard to the affairs of our Marshpee friends may 
 ret succeed. If not, I think we may console ourselves as 
 one of old did : that if Rome must fall, we are innocent. 
 I am, very respectfully yours, 
 
 J. BARTON.
 
 157 
 
 The Legislature having thus left the question, lo be 
 deciSed by the Courts, if Mr. Fish insists on holding 
 the parsonage, the inquiry raust arise on legal princi- 
 ples, how was Mr. Fish settled in Marshpee, and by 
 what ri^ht does he, as a sole corporation, or otherwise, 
 hold the parsonnge, as an allotment set apart forever 
 for the support of a Congregational minister, in Marsh- 
 pee ? Harvard College in which he was then, or had 
 been a tutor, sent him there as a missionary under the 
 Williams fund. The Legislature took no part what- 
 ever in the settlement. The Overseers permitted him 
 to take possession of the Meeting-house and the par- 
 sonage land, so called, and it is understood that they 
 consented he should cut the annual growth of the wood 
 off the parsonage. But even admitting that the Over- 
 seers could so dispose of the property of the Indians, 
 for promoting a particular religious worship in Marsh- 
 pee, (which is explicitly denied,) could they convey 
 any thing to Mr. Fish beyond the period of their own 
 existence 1 By the law establishing the Overseers, 
 they had no power beyond leasing land for two years. 
 How then, could the Overseers grant for life to Mr. 
 Fish the improvement of the parsonage and Meeting- 
 house ? They might have given it to him from year 
 to year, while they were in office, but on the abolition 
 of the Overseers, in 1834, and a restoration of civil 
 rights to the owners of the fee of the parsonage, the 
 Marshpee Proprietors, how could Mr. Fish continue 
 to hold the parsonage against their will ? Was it by 
 virtue of his settlement, so that he now claims the land 
 as a sole corporation 1 But a minister cannot be set- 
 tled or constituted a sole corporation, without a parish 
 14
 
 158 
 
 to settle him. "A minister of a parish seized of lands 
 in its right as parsonage lands, is a sole corporation^ 
 and on a vacancy, the parish is entitled to the profits ;'* 
 2d Dane's Abrg. 342. 7 Mass. Rep. 445. Mr. Fish 
 is not seized of a parsonage in right of any parish or 
 religious society, and therefore he cannot be a sole cor- 
 poration. In point of fact, there was no legal parish 
 in Marshpee, when Mr. Fish went there and took pos- 
 session, under the Overseers, and not in right of the 
 parish. A parish or precinct as the law then was, 
 must be a corporation entitled and required to support 
 public worship, and having all the powers and privile- 
 ges necessary for that purpose. (See 8th Mass. Rep. 
 91.) And where there has been no parish as such 
 created in a town, the town itself will be considered a 
 parish. (15 Mass. Rep. 296.) Marshpee was not a 
 town. The Marshpee Indians were minors in law, and 
 there was no legal parish to settle a minister, or to hold 
 a parsonage, and no one to make contracts as such. 
 Harvard College had no power to settle a minister in 
 Marshpee, nor had the Overseers any such power. 
 Their supervision was temporal and not ecclesiastical. 
 Besides, the actual Congregational society which sub- 
 '=tnd in Marshpee, when Mr. Fish was sent there, \v\ 
 1811, was composed of a majority of whites. Mr. 
 Fish himself testified before the Committee, that the 
 church at Marshpee, in 1811, consisted of sixteen 
 whiles and but five colored persons. Tlie church 
 members were a majority of whites, so that even had 
 the church voted to settle Mr. Fish, it would have 
 been a vote of white men bavins; no interest in the 
 premises, and not of Indian Proprietors. Mr. Fish
 
 159 
 
 admits that the church passed no vote. It was asserted 
 by one of the old Overseers, Mr. Havvley, that five In- 
 dians called on hitn, after Mr. Fish had preached there, 
 and personally expressed a wish to have him stay with 
 them, but there was no official act, and no vote of the 
 church or society, and no assent of the Proprietors of 
 Marsh pee in any form. 
 
 Who were the Congregational church, and who the 
 society in Marshpee, in 1811 ? A regularly gathered 
 Congregational church, is composed of several persons 
 associated by covenant or agreement of church fellow- 
 ship, (9th Mass. 277.) and a church cannot exist for 
 any legal purposes, except as connected with a con- 
 gregation or some regularly constituted religious socie- 
 ty. (16 Mass. 488.) Where there aie no special 
 powers given to the church by the Legislature, the 
 church cannot contract with or settle a minister, but 
 that power resides wholly in the parish, of which the 
 members of the church, who are inhabitants, are a 
 part. (9 Mass. Reports, 277. Burr vs. First Parish 
 in Sandwich. 
 
 We have seen that there was no legal parish in 
 Marshpee, in 1811, and therefore the Congregational 
 church, if there were such then, had no power to set- 
 tle Mr. Fish, even had they done so, which they did 
 not. A parish may elect a public teacher, and con- 
 tract to support him, without the consent of the church, 
 if he be ordained by a council invited by the parish ; 
 but in Mr. Fish's case, he was ordained by the request 
 and under the direction of the President and Corpora- 
 tion of Harvard College, the Trustees of the Williams 
 fund, with the assent of the Overseers. There is then
 
 160 
 
 no ground whatever for assuming that Mr. Fish ever 
 was settled legally over a Congregational parish in 
 Marshpee, so as to establish him a sole corporation, to 
 hold the lands belonging to the Proprietors of Marsh- 
 pee, under the dedication deed of 1783. If that deed 
 and the subsequent act of 1809, conveyed any thing, 
 the conveyance was for the use of the inhabitants as a 
 parsonage, there being no parish in Marshpee, distinct 
 from the Plantation. In such case, it would be held 
 to be a grant to Marshpee, (that is the town,) for the 
 use of its ministers, (14 Mass. 333.) The grant, 
 therefore, could it be regarded as such, was to the 
 whole Proprietors of Marshpee, and they must first 
 settle a minister before he could claim the use of the 
 grant as a minister of the parish. 
 
 Neither has Mr. Fish, even if he had been legally 
 settled, any just right, under the deed of 1783, to take 
 the whole parsonage, because that deed states the 
 principal object of the sequestration of the land to be, 
 for the important purpose of promoting the gospel in 
 Marshpee, and merely referred to the only worship 
 then known there, which was Congregational. When 
 Mr. Fish went there in 1811, there was a Baptist 
 church, and they objected to his taking possession of 
 the parsonage. 
 
 There is a case in point in the 13th Mass. Rep. 
 190, which decides, that where the original Proprie- 
 tors of a township appropriated a lot of land for a par- 
 sonage, and at the same time voted that they would 
 endeavor that a Congregational minister should be set- 
 tled in the township, such vote ought not to be con- 
 strued to limit the benefit of the parsonage to a minis- 
 ter of the Congregational order, and that if the inhab- 
 itants of the parish should become Christians of any 
 other Protestant sect, they w^ould be entitled to the 
 land, and that a Congregational society, incorporated 
 as a full parish would have no right to the parsonage. 
 Neither can a parish convey a parsonage to a minister 
 to be held by him in his personal right. By this de-.
 
 161 
 
 cision, the Baptist or Methodist church in Marshpee 
 have as good claim to the parsonage as Mr. Fish has. 
 
 The dedication, or whatever it may be called, of 
 Marshpee parsonage, was made by Lot Nye, &c. in 
 1783, and confirmed in 1809, by the General Court. 
 Mr. Fish did not become a minister in Marshpee, until 
 1811. Whoever settled him there, for the Indians did 
 not, made no stipulation as to the income of the par- 
 sonage, which could bind the Plantation. The socie- 
 ty only, could make such stipulation, and they did not 
 act in the premises. The Overseers could make no 
 stipulation either to bind the parish or the proprietors, 
 because their power only extended to giving a lease of 
 land not exceeding two years. In the case of Thomp- 
 son vs. the Catholic Congregational Society in Reho- 
 both, (5th Pickering, 469,) it was seiiled that where 
 there was a ministerial fund in a parish, and the socie- 
 ty settled a minister stipulating to pay him a salary, 
 without taking any notice of the income of the fund, 
 he must he considered as accepting the salary as a full 
 compensation, and the society are entitled to the fund. 
 Harvard College setded -Mr. Fish in Marshpee, and 
 agreed to pay him about five hundred dollars, or two- 
 thirds the proceeds of the Williams fund. The socie- 
 ty to which Mr. Fish was sent to preach, took no no- 
 tice of the parsonage, nor did the Proprietors of Marsh- 
 pee, hence Mr. Fisli cannot hold the proceeds of the 
 parsonage by right of succession, or by stipulation, 
 either from the society or the Marshpee Proprietors, 
 and therefore the Proprietors of Marshpee are entitled 
 to the parsonage. 
 
 There is one other consideration that might legally 
 deprive Mr. Fish of his rights in the parsonage, even if 
 he acquired any by the transaction in 1811, which is 
 denied. When he went to Mai^shpee, and first preach- 
 ed there, he was of the Unitarian faith, and so contin- 
 ued some time. Subsequently, (and most undoubtedly 
 from high conscientious motives,) he became Oriho-< 
 14*
 
 162 
 
 dox in his creed, and has remained so ever since. 
 [This fact has been named by the President of Har- 
 vard College, as one reason why the Williams fund has 
 continued to be diverted from its proper use ; the deli- 
 cacy Harvard College felt at dismissing Mr. Fish, lest 
 it should be ascribed to persecution, for his change of 
 sentiments from Unitarian to Orthodox.] 
 
 But if Mr. Fish claims to hold the parsonage by the 
 " Z«W5," he must be governed by the decision of the 
 Court in the celebrated case of Burr, vs. the first parish 
 in Sandwich. Mr. Burr was settled an Unitarian, and 
 became Orthodox, and this the Supreme Court decid- 
 ed was just cause for the parish to dismiss liim. Chief 
 Justice Parsons, said in that case, that " according to the 
 almost immemorial usage of Congregational churches, 
 before the parish settle a minister, he preaches with 
 them as a candidate for settlement, with the intent of 
 declaring his religious faith, and if he is afterv;ards set- 
 tled, it is understood that the greater part of the parish 
 and church agree in his religious sentiments and opin- 
 ions. If afterwards the minister adopts a new system 
 of divinity, the parish retaining their former religious 
 belief, so that the minister would not have been settled 
 on his present system, in our opinion the parish have 
 good cause to complain." On this ground the Court 
 decided that Mr. Burr had forfeited his settlement. 
 
 The principle is the same applied to the relation Mr. 
 Fish holds to the Marsh pee Indians. He was placed 
 over them by others, and the Indians are now compell- 
 ed either to lose all the benefits of their own parson- 
 age, or to hear a man in whose doctrines they do not 
 believe, and whom they cannot consent to take as their 
 spiritual teacher. 
 
 Upon a full investigation into this branch of the in- 
 quiry, there seems to be no legal or equitable ground, 
 on which Mr. Fish can claim to hold the parsonage 
 and Meeting-house against the Proprietors, and he 
 must therefore, be regarded as a trespasser, liable to be 
 ejected, and the men lie employs to cut and cart wood
 
 163 
 
 from the plantation, are liable to indictment under the 
 new law of 1834. 
 
 The invalidity of title, is however, a still stronger 
 ground against IMr. Fish's right of adverse occupancy, 
 which he now holds, and a case in principle precisely 
 like this, has been decided by the Supreme Court of 
 Massachusetts. It occurred in 1798, before there was 
 a reporter of the Supreme Court. Hon John Davis, 
 United States District Judge, was counsel for the In- 
 dians, and Samuel Dexter, for the defendant. It was 
 tried on a demurrer, before the Supreme Court in Barn- 
 stable, upon an action of ejectment. Proprietors of 
 Marshpee, vs. Ebenezer Crocker. Judge Paine de- 
 livered the opinion of the Court in favor of the Indians. 
 Judge Benjamin Whitman of Boston, was also, we be- 
 lieve, concerned in the cause. The substance of the 
 case, as stated by Judge Davis and Judge Whitman, 
 was thus : 
 
 Ebenezer Crocker of Cotuet, had furnished an In- 
 dian woman, (known as the Indian Queen,) with sup- 
 plies for many years. She occupied and claimed in 
 severalty as her own, a valuable tract of about 200 
 acres of land on the Marshpee Plantation, called the 
 neck, of which tract she gave a deed in fee, some 
 time before her death, to said Crocker, in considera- 
 tion of the support he had given her. The considera- 
 tion at that time, was not very greatly disproportioned 
 to the value of the land. After her death, she having 
 left no lieirs, the grantee, Mr. Crocker, who was an 
 influential member of the General Court, petitioned 
 that body and procured a full confirmation of the deed 
 to him, in the same manner the General Court in 
 1809, confirmed the parsonage deed of 1783, except 
 that there was not so long a time intervening between 
 Mr, Crocker's receiving the deed fronj the Indian 
 Queen in her life time, and its full confirmation by the 
 General Court after her death. 
 
 This took place previous to the law of 1788, putting 
 the Indians under guardianship, when either the law of
 
 164 
 
 1693 or the charter of 1763, was in force.* When 
 the white Overseers came in, in 1798, they found 
 Crocker in possession of this land, under the above 
 title, and they employed Judge John Davis, as coun- 
 sel, to vacate the deed and the act of the General 
 Court. Judge Davis brought an action of ejectment 
 against Crocker, (not in the name of the Overseers,) 
 but in the name of the.Proprietors of Marslipee, whose 
 property he claimed, was as tenants in common, on. 
 the ground that the old Queen, though she occupied 
 it in severalty during her life, could not, as one tenant 
 in common, convey the interest of her co-tenants in 
 common. It was tried in the Supreme Court, and 
 the deed was set aside, for insufficiency of title. This 
 insufficiency of title viuated the conveyance on the 
 ground that the old. Queen had no power to convey 
 when she made the deed, and that the General Court 
 had no power to make good, by a resolve, a title orig- 
 inally invalid. 
 
 Crocker also set up the claim of quiet possession, 
 for thirty years, which it was supposed would secure 
 the title ; but the Court decided that this gave no 
 title, and the land was restored to the Indians, and 
 now forms a portion of their common land, Mr. 
 Crocker of course, lost all he had furnished to the old 
 Queen, and in this respect, his case was harder than 
 it would be, were Mr. Fish dispossessed of the parson- 
 age, after enjoying it for twenty-four years, without 
 any title thereto. It would be difficult tor any lawyer 
 to show why Crocker's deed confirmed by the General 
 Court, should have been set aside in 1798, and Lot 
 Nye's deed, of the parsonage, be held valid in 1834. 
 
 On referring to my minutes of the trial of the peti- 
 tion of the Indians, for their liberty, in 1834, before a 
 Committee of the Legislature, 1 fmcl the following 
 
 ♦ In June, 1763, the Governor and Council appointed Thomas Smith, 
 Isaac Hinckley and Gideon Huwle/, " pursuant to an act empowering 
 them to appoint certaiii pereons to have the inspection of the Phiats- 
 tiou of Marsbpee.''
 
 165 
 
 facts stated by Rev. Phineas Fish, who was a witness 
 before that Cominitlee. They will throw some li^ht 
 on the subject of inquiry. 
 
 Rev. Phineas Fish, sworn. Testifies that he was ordained 
 at Marshpee in 1811. Was invited there by the Overseers of 
 Marshpee. There were five persons of color belonging to 
 the church, and sixteen whites. At the ordination, a white 
 man rose up and protested against it. He said all were not 
 satisfied. It was not a vote of the Indians by which he was 
 settled, and no vote of the church was taken. Five Indiana 
 had expressed a wish that he would remain. He received 
 two-thirds of the WiHims fund, from Harvard College. It 
 had varied from 390 to 433 dollars. Received about 150 dol- 
 lars per year from the wood-land of the parsonage. Has built 
 a dwelling house, and made improvements on an acre and a 
 half of land of the plantation, of which he holds a deed from 
 the Overseers, confirmed by a resolve of the General Court. 
 
 Mr. Gideon Hawley testified that the Meeting-house was 
 built by tlje funds of the English Society for propagating the 
 gospel, before 1757, when his father was sent as a missionary 
 to the Indians, by the London Missionary Society. In 1817, 
 five hundred dollars were granted on petition of the Indians, 
 as a donation by the Legislature, to repair the church for the 
 Marshpee Indians. After Mr. Fish had preached in Marshpee, 
 5 Indians came to Mr. Hawley and expressed a wish he would 
 stay with them. There was no vote and no record. Before 
 his father came to Marshpee, in 1757, Bryant, an Indian 
 preacher, used to preach to the Indians, in the xMeeting-house, 
 The missionary, (Mr. Hawley,) received one hundred dollars 
 annually, from Harvard College, of the Williams fund. In 
 1778, the Indians gave the missionary, Mr. Hawley, two hun- 
 dred acres of land, which witness inherits. [The validity of 
 this title is not disputed.] 
 
 Hon. Charles Ma7'sion, {one of the Overseers,) testified that 
 Mr. Fish had a Sunday School, principally composed of white 
 children. He did not recollect ever seeing more than eight 
 colored children in it. There were more whites. The Over- 
 seers paid the school mistress seven and sixpence a week, 
 and she board herself. To an Indian, who kept school in 
 winter, were paid twelve and nineteen dollars a month. The 
 whites who attend Mr. Fish's meeting, never pay any thing 
 to him or the church. When the tax was required in parish- 
 es, many whites got rid of their tax by attending Mr. Fish's 
 meeting. There was always twice as many whites as blacks 
 in the society. Last summer, (1833,) he counted eighteen 
 colored persons, and twice that number of whites. Mr. Dwight,
 
 166 
 
 one of the Committee, asked, if so many whites being there, 
 did not tend to discourage the Indians from being interested 
 in the meeting ? Mr. Marston thought it might. 
 
 Deacon Isaac Coombs, who had been twenty years a dea- 
 con in Mr. Fish's church, changed his sentiments, and waa 
 baptized by immersion. He testified before the Committee 
 of the Legislature, that when he told Mr. Fish he had been 
 baptized again, Mr. Fish said, " that was rank poison, and 
 that he should expect some dreadful judgment would befal 
 me." Deacon Coombs, who is sixty years old, testified also, 
 that the Meeting-house was built for the use of the Indians. 
 No one could remember when it was built. There was but 
 one colored male church member, when Mr. Fish came to 
 Marshpee, in 1811. He further stated to the Committee that 
 his family got discouraged going to Mr. Fish's meeting, from 
 the preference he gave to the whites. He did not come to 
 see his family, and lost his influence by taking part with the 
 guardians against the Indians. There was a difficulty in Mr. 
 Fish's meeting about the singing. The colored people were 
 put back, and the whites took the lead. Mr. Fish has 50 or 60 
 acres of pasture, East of the river, besides the parsonage. 
 
 I have thus given my views of the law and the facts, 
 touching the parsonage in Marshpee, in order that the 
 Indians and their Selectmen who have desired legal 
 advice on the subject, may fully understand their rights, 
 i am confident they will never attempt to obtain those 
 rights, except in a legal and peaceable way. The 
 Courts at Barnstable, it is said, are closed to them, in 
 the way pointed out by the law, the District Attorney 
 refusing to prosecute the men who cut wood on the 
 parsonage. I invite the attention of that acute and 
 learned officer, Charles H- Warren, Esq. to the points 
 made in this opinion, well assured that if it can be re- 
 futed by any professional gentleman, it can be done 
 by him. If he cannot do so, I hope he will permit 
 the title of the parsonage to be brought before the 
 Court, under an indictment for cutting wood contrary 
 to the act of 1834. I regret the necessity of present- 
 ing arguments to dispossess Mr. Fish of what he doubt- 
 less supposes be lawfully holds ; but I am looking for 
 the rights and the property of the Indians, and am not
 
 167 
 
 at liberty to consult personal feelings, that would cer- 
 tainly induce me to favor the Rev. Mr. Fish, as soon 
 as any man in his situation. I think it as important to 
 him as to the Indians, that the title to the parsonage 
 should be settled, for there will be feuds, and divisions, 
 and strifes, as long as that property remains as it novr 
 is, wrongfully taken and withheld from the Indians, to 
 support an ''established church," in ]Marslipee. 
 With this view I have proposed to Mr. Fish, in behalf 
 of the Indians, to make up an aniicable suit, before the 
 Supreme Court, and obtain their opinion, and the par- 
 ties be governed by it. The Indians are ready to sub- 
 mit it to such an arbitration. Mr. Fish declines. The 
 only other remedy is an injunction in chancery, to stop 
 the cutting of wood. The Indians arc not w^ell able 
 to bear the expense, at present, or this course would 
 be taken to recover their property. Until some legal 
 decision is had, Mr. Fish cannot but see, from an ex- 
 amination of the legal s^rounds set forth herein, that 
 there are strong reasons for regarding him as holding in 
 his possession that which rightfully belongs to another. 
 The public will not be satisfied, until the rights of the 
 Indians are fully secured. I have always been desir- 
 ous that Mr. Fish should not be disturbed in his house 
 lot, and for my own part, it would give me pleasure, 
 should the Indians, immediately, on getting legal posses- 
 sion of their own parsonage, unanimously invite-him to 
 settle over them. But so long as he withholds from them 
 their property, it cannot be expected that they should 
 receive him as their spiritual teaclier. It is in direct 
 violation of the Constitution and of religious freedom. 
 - BENJAMIN F. HALLETT, 
 
 Counsel for the Marshpee Indians. 
 Boston, May, 20, 1835. 
 
 {Cf^ The Selectmen of Marshpee District, are at liberty 
 to make such use of the foregoing, as they think proper.
 
 168 
 
 CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 If, in the coiirsG of this little volume, I have been 
 obliged to use language that seems harsh, I beg my 
 readers to remember that it was in defence of the 
 character of the people under my spiritual charge and 
 of my own. The Marshpees have been reviled and 
 misrepresented in the public prints, as much more in- 
 dolent, ignorant, and degraded than they really are, 
 and it was necessary, for their future welfare, as it de- 
 pends in no small degree upon the good opinion of 
 their white brethren, to state the real truth of the case, 
 which could not be done in gentle terms. The causes 
 which have retarded our improvement could not be ex- 
 plained without naming the individuals who have been 
 the willing instruments to enforce them. 
 
 For troubling my readers with so much of my own 
 affairs, I have this excuse. I have been assailed by 
 the vilest calumnies ; represented as an exciter of se- 
 dition, a hypocrite and a gambler. These slanders, 
 though disproved, still continue to circulate. Though 
 an Indian, I am at least a man, with all the feelings 
 proper to humanity, and my reputation is dear to me; 
 and I conceive it to be my duty to the children I shall 
 leave behind me, as well as to myself, not to leave them 
 the inheritance of a blasted name. In so doing, I hum- 
 bly presume to think, I have not exceeded tha mode- 
 ration, proper for a Christian man to use. 
 
 WILLIAM APES. 
 
 ERRATA. 
 
 Page 15, 5th line, read invite for imitate... .P. 32, 16th line, read 
 Fiike for Fish ; the same 35th p. 3d line and 15th line ; and p. 36, 
 near the bottom....?. 57, read rye for hay.... P. 78, read College for 
 Harvard.
 
 p 
 
 
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